THIS is the terrifying moment balaclava-clad men break into a shop and tie up female staff with cable ties before ransacking the store.
The two raiders are seen dragging a woman across a tile floor before holding her down at the store in Derbyshire.
The attack comes amid mounting concerns about Britain's violent shoplifting epidemic, leaving many workers at risk.
One of the thieves is captured on CCTV passing cable ties to his accomplice after grabbing and hauling a shopkeeper across the floor.
The victim Abbie Saville was held down on the ground before the masked raiders left her there and began stealing.
She has now told ITV: "They tied up my hands and my feet and left me there for five minutes and then they jumped over and nicked all the stock.
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"People think you just work in a shop and it's not dangerous – but it is, it does get dangerous."
The video cuts to show how the culprits then leapt over the counter before ransacking the shelves.
They were seen swiftly piling cigarettes and alcohol into bags then escaping.
She also urged others never to challenge thieves, for fear of reprisals, adding: "Until you experience trauma like this, do not go back at them – let them take whatever.
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"Stock can be replaced but your life can't."
Shop workers' union USDAW says their research suggests half of retail staff have no confidence of any impact if they report serious abuse to cops.
London store manager Yasmin Mohamed said: "We're here to earn a living, not to experience the threat we have to go through.
"The abuse, whether it's physical or emotional – none of us deserve this.
"The police response is not as great as it should be – when the police come, it feels as if the retail workers are not the priority."
Grocery giant Co-op recently revealed records showing the highest level of shoplifting in the firm's history – with 1,000 attacks each day over the previous six months.
This was an 35 per cent surge on last year, prompting the company to to spend four times as much on security as other firms.
Store bosses described groups of masked and armed youths battering through glass doors, leaping kiosks and looting shelves.
Assaults on employees were up by almost 30 per cent, along with 20 per cent more anti-social behaviour and verbal abuse.
Staff also told of being threatened with knives and screwdrivers.
Retailers such as the Co-op are also increasingly using dummy packaging on shelves such as empty coffee jars, while locking away treats including chocolate bars.
The firm previously warned about a spike in shoplifters nabbing large quantities of baby milk powder to mix with drugs.
Staff at a Co-op branch in Corby, Northamptonshire, earlier this year had "poisonous chemicals" sprayed in their faces.
The British Retail Consortium says shoplifting cases are spiralling, with 7.9million across UK stores last year — 5million up on 2016-2017.
And workers at the UK Addiction Treatment Group have reported an “astronomical” rise in people seeking help with shoplifting addiction.
The rehab and recovery centre averaged about 30 calls each week this year – up from ten per month in 2022.
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