Shoplifters take £1k of Christmas stock from Everton Nurseries garden centre, off the A337 Christchurch Road, near Lymington

A “BRAZEN” shoplifting in which around £1,000 of Christmas stock was taken left a family-run garden centre’s staff “shocked” and “disappointed”.

Three women and a boy entered Everton Nurseries, off the A337 Christchurch Road, near Lymington, on Sunday afternoon, before leaving without paying for items stuffed into clothing and bags.

The youngster even waved at his image on monitors displaying the store’s CCTV feed.

Speaking to the A&T afterwards, office manager Alessio Collyer believed they had paid a prior visit as they knew to go straight to the Christmas section.

“They were obviously quite brazen. They just came in carelessly, obviously in their big coats,” he said.

“They just started stuffing items into their coats. I’m not sure if they had extra pockets stitched into them for this. They were also tucking items into their waistbands around their trousers.

“One of them even took one of our Christmas bags and started filling it up with decorations.”

He continued: “The boy, who was about 12 years old, had done trips in and out with large items.

“He had seen himself on the screens and was waving at himself.

“He had also been running around the shop waving at customers, which was a bit odd.”

Mr Collyer told how the shoplifting was carried out within 10 minutes from around 3pm, and the boy then waited at the entrance to keep the door open for the three women to leave.

Decorations taken included 40 to 50cm-tall Santa and Nutcracker ornaments.

The shoplifters also took a number of Jellycat stuffed toys, pillows, and other decorations including string lights and baubles.

“We’re disappointed,” Mr Collyer said. “It’s obviously quite upsetting at this festive time of year.

“It’s quite shocking as well how brazen they were to come in and do what they did.”

Referring to reported sightings of the quartet in stores in Lymington, Highcliffe and Southampton, he called for people to report these to police to help build a case.

Everton Nurseries is now in its 102nd year, run by its third generation, with Alessio part of the fourth.

Vowing the store had tightened security since Sunday, Mr Collyer added: “It’s amazing the support we’ve had through the community and other businesses coming together to help us and the police in terms of helping to find and identify these people.”

Many shared their frustration at the incident in comments responding to Mr Collyer sharing CCTV stills on social media.

One person wrote: “I am so sorry to hear this. The photos are really clear so fingers crossed they are caught.”

A Hampshire police spokesperson said: “We were called to a report of a shoplifting incident at Everton Nurseries on Farmers Walk.

“It was reported that items worth approximately £1,000 were stolen at around 3pm on Sunday 15th December.”

“Officers have launched an investigation.”

Those with information should contact the force online via hampshire.police.uk or call 101, quoting reference 44240547067.

Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously via crimestoppers-uk.org or on 0800 555 111.