Major retailers Tesco and WH Smith have taken the extraordinary step of placing security tags on advent calendars.

The yellow deterrent stickers have been spotted on Bluey advent calendars priced at just £2, while Dairy Milk and Maltesers versions costing £2.75 have also been secured.

Even boxes of After Eight chocolate mints, retailing at £3.50, have been fitted with the anti-theft devices in stores.

Consumer champion Martyn James expressed dismay at the situation telling The Sun on Sunday: "It's incredibly depressing retailers are having to attach security tags to even the cheapest Christmas advent calendars thanks to thieves."

The move reflects growing concerns about retail theft as stores prepare for the festive season.

Britain's retail crime crisis has been laid bare by new figures from the British Retail Consortium's latest survey.

The cost of retail theft has doubled to £1.8billion, according to the BRC's Retail Crime Survey 2022-2023.

The report reveals that more than 45,000 incidents are now occurring each day across the country.

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The BRC has described the situation as "a crisis that demands action".

Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the BRC, highlighted the human cost of retail crime, stating: "With over 1,300 incidents every day, Government can no longer ignore the plight of ordinary, hardworking retail colleagues."

She emphasised the lasting impact on workers, saying: "While the violence can be over in a moment, the victims carry these experiences with them for a lifetime."

The effects extend beyond the immediate victims, affecting "their colleagues, friends and their families whom they go home to every day and night."

Dickinson called for urgent Government intervention, noting: "Criminals are being given a free pass to steal goods and abuse and assault retail colleagues."

She pointed to Scotland's Protection of Workers Act, which provides additional safeguards for retail staff, questioning why workers in England and Wales receive less protection.

"It's absolutely vital that Government takes action and brings forward the new standalone offence of assaulting or abusing a retail worker," she urged.