A Birmingham pharmacy owner has warned that medicine thefts could prove deadly after he was forced to pursue criminals across busy roads to protect his stock.

Sanjeev Panesar revealed he has personally intervened to stop thieves at his chemists, describing the pursuits as "potentially fatal".

The pharmacist told GB News that criminals have become increasingly bold, entering shops and openly filling bags with medicines and retail products from shelves.

The pharmacist told GB News that criminals have become increasingly bold

Recent research has exposed the alarming scale of criminal activity targeting chemists throughout England.

The National Pharmacy Association surveyed 476 pharmacies and discovered that 88 per cent had experienced theft incidents within the past year.

Speaking to GB News, the Birmingham-based pharmacist said: "We operate a number of pharmacies across Birmingham and first hand, I've had to intervene and apprehend some of the perpetrators myself.

"That has involved sometimes chasing after them, sometimes across a busy road as well so it could be potentially fatal.

"It's a very worrying situation, and more recently, we have seen that increase in petty theft in our pharmacies.

"It's a big concern for our teams and our healthcare staff that are here to care for their communities and patients and provide healthcare services, not deal with verbal or physical abuse.

"They can be very brazen about it. Just walking in, opening the bags and taking various items off the shelves, whether that's medicines or other retail goods.

"And the worrying thing is, here we're not just like any of the retail businesses. We've got medicines, often high-risk medicines that we stock and store in our pharmacies. If that gets into the wrong hands, it could potentially be life-threatening and fatal for the general public.

"So it's a really serious issue and a big cause for concern that we have.

"There are no specific statistics [about links to the drugs trade], but we do hear reports of pharmacies who have got CCTV footage where there are ins overnight, potentially, where there are high-risk medicines that are being targeted.

Pharmacy thefts are up by 88 per cent

"Pharmacies are experiencing maybe more through the retail area and some of the lower-grade medicines.

But obviously, every medicine carries a risk, and I'm sure there would be a lot of pharmacies that are experiencing more serious crimes and criminal activity taking place as well, especially after hours, overnight as well.

"Going back many years, I think the police presence was very well known in the communities. We had local community offices coming around to all the various shopping parades, popping their heads and giving us local intel and support.

"We noticed a big difference that crime has reduced.

"But since that presence has gone, there's definitely been an increase. And we've noticed, even if we report various crimes, you don't necessarily hear a response back, especially if it's what would be classed as petty theft, although, obviously, all theft is serious."