A riot, between several men, broke out in a well-known sports shop in Reading Town Centre leaving havoc in its wake.
Throughout the years, the violence and anti-social behaviour in Reading Town Centre have seen a drastic increase in violent interactions and shoplifting according to shopkeepers.
An employee from JD Sports, who wishes to remain anonymous, noted that the level of violence has reached a ‘frightening’ level.
In an incident on June 28, 2024, the Chronicle was recently made aware that a fight broke out between a group of men in the store leaving staff and customers horrified.
The employee at the store said: “It was so frightening. Over £1000 worth of clothes were left bloodied and rails were ripped off walls to be used as weapons.
“It seemed like they just came into the store because they knew that they could get away with it. Police did absolutely nothing about it at the time and they didn’t seem to care.
“I was shocked because when we report something like that, it normally takes police around 15 minutes to get here and by then [the offenders] have long gone. We sometimes end up chasing after them ourselves.”
Pictures of the store following the incident show how clothes stands, and rails had been pushed aside, leaving rubbish in their wake.
Employees spoke out about the amount of violence that they have been forced to deal with over the years, and the increase throughout Reading town centre.
“It seems that violence in store is mainly against women,” another employee said. “I have been spat at, threatened with acid and had a dog let loose on me in the store.
“The police will come in and take statements but unless the CCTV footage is clear, they won’t do anything. We just feel let down.”
In a frightening incident, which occurred a few years ago, the Chronicle have been told of a man who bit a former manager during her working day.
This resulted in hospitaisation, where the woman required treatment for the bite.
The Chronicle have contacted Thames Valley Police regarding this incident.
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