New twist in basket case after Tesco uses tags to stop thieves

AN island supermarket hit by the theft of scores of shopping baskets has taken steps to protect those that remain.

Yesterday, customers spotted that baskets at the Tesco store in Stornoway had been fitted with security tags to deter any light-fingered thieves.

But later in the day, as new stocks began to arrive and more than 20 people returned missing ones, the tags appeared to have been removed.

More than a dozen baskets were sent to the Lewis shop from Tesco’s nearest supermarket, in Ullapool, Ross-shire – a move describe by some islanders as ‘Bask Aid’.

Tesco, which last week announced increased pre-tax profits of £1.3billion, removed baskets from the island store on Monday to counter thieves.

As well as offering an amnesty to those who returned them, it ordered a 100 new baskets to make up for the 15 per week it claimed had vanished.

Yesterday, however, Western Isles Nationalist MP Angus MacNeil criticised the apparent anti-theft measures.

‘This seems a complete overreaction by Tesco,’ he said. ‘Tesco has turned “basket gate” into basket case. It will probably cost more for the tags than the baskets.

‘If any of these baskets have been accidentally taken they will be returned, as is starting to happen already. We have one of the most law-abiding communities in the country.’

A Tesco spokesman said: ‘Many thanks to those customers who have returned baskets. Our baskets are not tagged.

‘New stock of baskets continue to arrive in store, with more arriving later this week.’

Islanders have flooded the store’s Facebook page with comments on ‘basket gate’.

Fiona Black wrote: ‘There weren’t that many baskets in the first place, how many weeks at 15 per week has it been going on? And why did it take the fact that there were no baskets for you to realise?’