A gang of shoplifting yobs have been caught on CCTV attacking a London shopkeeper and stealing vapes – before returning 48 hours later to do the same thing.
The first incident occurred at the shop on Charing Cross Road, Leicester Square, at 10.31pm on March 3 and left the shopkeeper terrified after the group burst into his shop before punching and kicking him.
And the despicable group returned for a second time on March 5 at 10.05pm, barging into the man before stealing yet more vapes.
The yobs, who were seen in both incidents wearing dark clothing, hoods and balaclavas, dragged the man from behind the counter and punched and kicked him before fleeing the scene with more boxes of vapes.
In the first incident, the group can be seen walking into the shop in a hurried manner, before the seemingly tallest member of the group approaches the shopkeeper.
As the youngster towers over him, he begins approaching the area where the vapes are stored behind the counter and tells the shopkeeper that he is ‘trying to see’.
But things soon escalate when another member of the group approaches, leading the gang to grab the shopkeeper from behind the counter before they start to punch, kick and push him.
With the shopkeeper out of the way, the tallest member of the group then returns and grabs the box of vapes before they all make a run for it.
A CCTV camera behind the counter caught the two horrific incidents on camera, and he reported it to the police.
A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘We are investigating following two reports of robbery at a shop near Leicester Square, WC2.
‘The report, made at 10:09pm on Wednesday, 5 March, relates to one alleged robbery that evening, and another on Monday, 3 March at the same shop on Charing Cross Road.
‘Officers are potentially linking the robberies to the same group of men aged in their 20s. No arrests have been made as of yet. Enquiries are ongoing.
‘If you were a witness or have any information which might help police, please call 101 quoting 7996/5MAR.’