Sainsbury’s worker sacked for tackling Champagne thief hours after he performed CPR on security guard
Gary MacArthur is yet another brave shop worker fired from a major supermarket for confronting a shoplifter
A former Sainsbury’s employee has told LBC his “soul is crushed” after he was sacked for escorting a notorious Champagne thief from his store - on the same day he performed CPR on the store’s sole security guard.
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Gary MacArthur, who spent 15 years as a shop assistant at a Sainsbury’s store in West Wickham, south-east London, was fired in March following an altercation with a bottle-hurling shoplifter in December 2025.
Despite the store having no security following the guard’s collapse, Gary was dismissed for gross misconduct, having failed to observe Sainsbury’s guidance on “prevent[ing] incidents”.
It is understood the supermarket had previously given him a written warning and extra training around this policy.
In his dismissal letter, seen by LBC, he was told that despite the shoplifter throwing glass bottles at his colleagues, Gary should have merely acted as a “visual deterrent”.
“The job was my life, really,” Gary said tearfully. “I don't have much.
"The friends that I do have are generally my work colleagues. I've got a couple of people who are really close to me. Apart from that… I've got five fish tanks and two snakes, and that's pretty much me.”
Read more: Met chief tells supermarkets: Don't sack 'public-spirited' staff who step in to tackle shoplifters
The incident happened more than an hour after he was due to finish his shift. After the store’s security guard suffered a suspected stroke, Gary had agreed to work an extra hour to help the all-female team feel safer.
“My security guard started at 1pm and he didn't seem right in himself - he looked lighter in his colour,” Gary recalled.
“Around 2:30, he had a stroke on the shop floor. Me and another colleague were the first at his scene, did a bit of CPR and called the ambulance… he was rushed to hospital.”
“I finish up at 9pm, [and] as I go to take my headpiece off, I’ve got all the girls screaming in my ear going ‘come down, we’ve got an aggressive Champagne thief.’”
The shoplifter was a repeat offender who regularly targeted the Sainsbury’s store in West Wickham, and had built up a reputation locally for pinching high-end bottles of Moët, Bollinger and Veuve Clicquot.
Conscious of the thief's reputation for being aggressive towards women, Gary confronted the man and physically escorted him from the store. He uncovered a bag containing multiple bottles, believed to have been looted from a neighbouring store. He removed the bag from the bush it was hidden in, and took it into the store.
By the time Gary had returned the goods to the stockroom, the shoplifter had re-entered the store and started smashing bottles, throwing two in the direction of his manager and another colleague.
As the thief grabbed four more bottles, a customer blocked their path out of the store using a trolley, causing the shoplifter to become more aggressive. Gary and the customer restrained him, putting him to the floor and holding him until police arrived.
Three months later, a heartbroken Gary was dismissed for gross misconduct. He was unsuccessful in his appeal, which was heard at the start of April.
Gary's decision to remove him from the store was deemed to have escalated the situation, leading to the thief's aggressive response.
It is understood that in August 2025, Gary was given a written warning after challenging someone who attempted to steal goods from the store.
But Gary insists that he simply “can’t let it go” when he sees someone breaking the law; he previously lost some teeth after being punched by a member of the public who’d attempted to make off with several bottles.
“It’s not even thieving these days - it’s pure looting,” Gary added. “People know it is, people see it and they don't do anything… There is no civic duty.”
Gary’s case is the latest in a series of shopworkers being dismissed for confronting thieves. Last month, Sean Egan, 46, was sacked by Morrisons after nearly three decades’ service for tackling a repeat offender.
Usdaw, the union representing retail workers, told LBC that it does not comment on individual cases, but urged supermarket bosses to exercise discretion when dealing with employees who breach policies while confronting shoplifters.
General secretary, Joanne Thomas, said: “We know how difficult and frightening it can be for staff to see thieves come into their store and help themselves, often in a threatening and abusive manner, and we recognise that being told to stand back can be frustrating.
“We would not expect management to rush to a dismissal if there has been a breach of policy: there must be a recognition that these responses can be reactions to intensely stressful and sometimes dangerous situations.
“In those circumstances, Usdaw would seek for our members to be given additional support, mentoring and training by the company.”
Shoplifting in the UK has reached record highs in the past year, with cases now topping 500,000 annually.
In a speech last week, the prime minister said that the “tide could be turning” on the issue, following a 17% increase in criminal charges.
Major retailers in the UK have increasingly installed facial recognition technology in their stores to help police identify and prosecute offenders.
Although Gary has found a new job, which he will start soon, he says he’s lost out financially and emotionally.
“I got to know people on a heartfelt and family-like basis. I [was] more in touch with the older community that came into the store: I'd greet them, I'd hug them, I'd chat with them. We'd laugh [and] we'd cry sometimes depending on their situations on the day. There was a real sense of love and loyalty for me and the colleagues and customers.
“I know my confidence will be hurt by this, but give me time - my love for work will never change. I'm always ready to get down and dirty with the job, no matter what the job.”
Approached about Gary’s case, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We are seeing incidents of violence, aggression and theft happening in our stores on a daily basis, threatening the safety of colleagues and customers.
“We are responding by investing in extra security measures, ensuring addressing this issue remains a Government priority and sharing intelligence with police forces around the country, not asking our colleagues to put their safety on the line by tackling offenders.
“That’s why our guidance to colleagues on responding to retail crime prioritises keeping everyone in our stores safe and is specifically designed to prevent incidents from escalating."