Ritika Janiya
Geraint runs a vape shop in Cardiff’s Queen Street, which has been named Britain’s best high street, but he has had stock worth £25,000 stolen from the shop. Despite getting the street an award for being ‘best’, Geraint and other shop workers there are constantly broken into, and their shops are stolen from. This has sown some doubt in the minds of the workers at the status that they are labeling as ‘best’, with pleas for safety measures for enhanced protection.
Geraint, 33, and owner of the vape shop, was previously very much keen to operate his store within Queen Street in Cardiff, which very recently was voted the best high street in the country based on some consumer survey. His enthusiasm has considerably waned, though, after £25,000 worth of stock was stolen from his shop, Queen Street Vapes. To him, the title of “best high street” now seems like a cruel joke.
Geraint has shops not only across the country, in Swindon, Cwmbran, even Abergavenny, and his home turf of Blackwood, but the biggest thorn in his side is Cardiff. This he felt would be the jewel in the crown, yet since February, there have been four attempts to break into his Queen Street premises alone, raising serious questions in his mind about whether this so-called “best” high street was really up to the moniker.
Geraint sighs, “It’s gotten to the point where often I’ve seriously thought of selling up and cutting my losses. Really preys on my mind. No matter how many alarms or CCTV cameras I have, these thieves get in.”
Geraint recently posted a video on a social media page that details three people bold enough to steal vapes from his store. The video would seem to hammer home a grim picture that is totally at odds with the glitzy new name of the street. Well, police have one of the three suspected thieves, that of a man who is 37 and who pleaded guilty. The other two are still at large.
But Geraint’s experience is far from original. Just down the street at budget retailer Savers, theft and threats are now an everyday occurrence. 20-year-old Ethan James Barnes, who has worked in the Queen Street store for two years, reveals how, this morning alone, £118 of baby’s milk was stolen from his shop. “People steal all sorts of things – milk, laundry pods, you name it,” Ethan says with a sigh.
With all this pilfering, the police hardly interfered except in cases where the goods stolen were really of value. Store manager Ethan recalls all too well, “I think the only time the police took action was when I got slapped in the face by a shoplifter.” This lack of enforcement leaves employees feeling vulnerable and unsupported.
South Wales Police said they “deal with all shoplifters irrespective of value” but outcomes are dependent on the circumstances. For workers on the front line, such Ethan, the daily threat of theft and violence is of little comfort. And Rhys Thomas, 25, who works at Holland and Barrett on Queen Street, knows all about trouble. More than a year later, he says it has gotten so serious that staff now have to wear body cameras for their protection. “The violence” is what Rhys said is the worst part of the job. “It’s the same people causing trouble over and over again. Even when the police get involved, it doesn’t stop them—they just keep coming back.”.
Award-winning Queen Street looks quite different from the street of woes that most workers, who work on it, have to live with. While it is true that GlobalData for American Express gave Cardiff’s Queen Street the top prize in a survey, from most who work there, life is a whole different reality.
South Wales Police said they were aware of the fears but that Cardiff city centre was very safe. “It’s a real positive that Queen Street was recently named best high street in the UK,” a said police spokesman. “However we’re sorry to hear about the negative experiences of these city centre workers.”
But it’s hard to look past the sharp-edged contrast between the glittering title of “best” and the daily reality of those working there. And safety, peace of mind—Geraint, Ethan, Rhys, and many others are left wondering if it really means anything.
The experience of Geraint is a shocking indication that even on what is supposed to be the finest high street in Britain, crime and antisocial behavior are a way of life. To Geraint, “finest” rings hollow when his business faces a threat and he himself does. The streets might be milling with shoppers, yet for those who work here, the issues are very real.
As crowds and plaudits continue to come the way of Cardiff’s Queen Street, the question has to be—can any high street really claim to be the best when the people who keep its shops running feel so vulnerable? Geraint and fellow shop workers can only hope for the day when the high street lives up to its title, not just in name but the safety and security it holds. The shiny award feels more like a far-off dream until then.
