A CO-OP security guard has been violently attacked by a serial shoplifter.

The man, who works at a branch in St Leonards, was left with a broken rib after the thief tried to steal from the store.

The guard's manager has asked him to remain anonymous for his own protection.

He has experienced numerous incidents involving assaults on both himself and other staff as he tries to protect the store from thefts and uphold mask rules.

The Love Hastings group, which works on behalf of businesses to make the area safer, said the latest incident highlights the need for the national "#ShopKind" campaign.

ShopKind is being backed by major retail chains and crime prevention organisations and was put together after research showed how prevalent violent crime has become in the retail sector.

John Bownas, manager of the Hastings Business Crime Reduction Partnership and vice-chairman of Sussex Crimestoppers, said: “Sadly, this is far from an isolated incident and across the UK there will be several of these attacks happening every day.

“As well as imploring shoppers in general to have more respect for staff in their local stores I want to challenge magistrates to have a better understanding of the impact that violence has on employees and shoppers alike and give appropriate sentences to the small minority of serial offenders who tend to be responsible for much of this problem."

Mr Bownas said another recent incident at the same store provided an example of how light sentences were failing to deter crime against shops.

Another prolific shoplifter appeared in court recently charged with theft, assault and criminal damage.

Despite her "long history of offending" she was handed a short suspended sentence and not issued any fines or compensation orders.

Commenting on the sentence, the Co-op guard said: “I was initially really pleased when I learnt the police were prosecuting this case as she and her partner have been responsible for thousands of pounds worth of theft from our shop over the past few months.

"I was frankly shocked when I saw how lightly the courts let her off. She’s been issued a restraining order that’s supposed to stop her coming back into the shop, but she just ignores it.”