Hull shopkeeper shares moment customer attacks him

More than three months after being assaulted by a customer, a shop owner says he still feels afraid in his own store. Naveen Sharda, the owner of a convenience store on Beverley Road in Hull, stated that he is still affected by the attack and unable to fully resume normal business operations.

The assailant, Paul Todd, pleaded guilty to assault at Hull Magistrates' Court on October 25, 2024. Todd was sentenced to a community order and barred from entering Mr. Sharda's store for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £250 in compensation to the victim.

Mr. Sharda shared his experience after the British Retail Consortium (BRC) stated that retail crime was "out of control." He said: "I can’t open the shop full time because I’m scared. My normal hours are seven in the morning till eight at night, but now sometimes I open at half seven, eight o’clock because it’s too dark outside and I’m scared. Nighttime I close at eight or half eight as well because after that I’m too scared. You can’t trust anyone. Anyone can attack you anytime, anywhere now, you’ve got no safety."

Mr. Sharda also described the impact of the assault on his family: "After that violence, I went to the emergency room, and when I came back home, I saw all my family sleeping in one room because they were scared."

According to data from the British Retail Consortium, which represents over 200 major retailers, incidents of violence and abuse against shop staff increased by 50% in the 12 months to last September, with an average of over 2,000 such incidents recorded daily. Separate data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday showed that police-recorded shoplifting offences in England and Wales increased by 23% over the same period, to over 492,000, the highest figure since current recording methods began in 2003.

Policing Minister Diana Johnson said: "The rising levels of shoplifting and violence towards retail staff are completely unacceptable. We will not tolerate this. That is why this government has been clear that we will introduce a new specific offence of assaulting a retail worker and end the current de facto impunity for stealing goods worth less than £200. As part of our Safer Streets Action Plan, we are restoring community policing, putting thousands of dedicated officers and community support officers back on our streets and ensuring that every community has a named local officer they can turn to."