Tesco has installed smoke machines in some of its shops to stop people from stealing goods outside of opening hours.
Britain’s largest grocer is using the 4ft-high security devices in some of its stores it has deemed as at high risk of burglary, The Sun reported.
The machines, which are rolled on to the shop floor of several branches in London after they have closed, will flood the store with dense fog to cover products if its motion sensors are activated.
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The devices are fitted with a CCTV camera, and a message on its front reads: “Warning: you’re being watched. Smoke screen security fog in operation.”
It is thought the machines have been rolled out to high risk branches in London and are not expected to be installed at any more of the grocer’s stores.
Its the latest measure by a supermarket to clamp down on the recent surge of shoplifting, which hit a record high of 5.6m incidents in 2023.
Waitrose owner John Lewis Partnership claimed it is “greed not need” driving high levels of shoplifting in recent months as it prepares to launch a new series of security measures.
