Desperate Superdrug bosses forced to take drastic step to stop ‘mass thefts’ of £23 product by teen girls

TEEN girls are fuelling the shoplifting crimewave — swiping Barbie-themed electric toothbrushes. Chiefs at Superdrug have started stashing the £22.95 gizmos behind counters after “mass thefts”.

Advertisement 1 Teen shoplifters are swiping Barbie-themed electric toothbrushes from Superdrug The Hismile devices have been removed from shelves and replaced with empty boxes which shoppers must take to the tills to make a purchase. Even the £3.48 toothbrush head refills are now security tagged.



One staff member at a store in Croydon, South London, told us: “We keep them in the stock room now and just leave the packaging out on the shop floor. “We get a lot of thefts from schoolgirls. They distract us — they also go for the make-up and fake eyelashes.

Advertisement READ MORE ON CRIME 'SICK JOKE' Fury as major Turkish crime boss dodges deportation on human rights grounds EVIDENCE TRAIL How student's dream of true-crime show probing his murder of mum fell apart “The college girls come in and do the same.” We revealed in September how Superdrug had been forced to slap security tags on wart and bunion treatments and blood pressure monitors. Trendy pimple patches popular with celebs including Justin Bieber got the same treatment in July after being targeted by thieves.

In February, Superdrug issued bodycams and headsets to staff. Advertisement Most read in Money QUIDS IN I make £10k a month doing a simple job that NO ONE wants - it takes just seconds CHOC DEAL Shoppers have just days left to get £3.95 Quality Street tubs from supermarket SHOP RULES Aldi to enforce a new two-limit rule on shoppers in all of its supermarkets BOO NOO Mike Ashley’s Boohoo bid thwarted after 99% of shareholders vote against him Graham Wynn, a director at the British Retail Consortium said: “Thieves are becoming bolder, more aggressive.

“The lack of effective police response has left many criminals feeling that they can shoplift with impunity.” Superdrug said: “We regularly trial different ways to display and protect our products.” Security guard stops alleged shoplifter by locking her inside store.