Cheese gets anti-shoplifting tags

BROCKWORTH, England, July 7 (UPI) -- A surge in cheese shoplifting is prompting a British grocery store to put security tags on the cheddar, shoppers say.

The Tesco store in Brockworth, Gloucester, is placing metal strips on the packaging of the dairy staples to quell thefts as the price of cheese rises and the recession is putting pressure on shoppers, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

"We have a number of security measures that we enforce in our stores across the U.K.," a Tesco spokesman told the newspaper. "The decision to use security tags is always made by the manager of the store and tags are used on various items such as bottles of spirits, all at the manager's discretion."

"Anything to discourage shoplifters is a good thing, and this is something I would certainly encourage," added Brockworth parish councilor Godfrey Browning. "Meat and cheese is getting very expensive now, so this could be seen as necessary."

The British Retail Food Consortium told the Telegraph thefts are up by more than a third at Tesco stores since the economic downturn began.