STAFF at a Worcestershire supermarket have been given body worn cameras to protect them against assaults.

Selected Tesco staff at the supermarket in St Peter's will be wearing the body cams to protect them when dealing with conflict.

The body cams will be rolled out for shop floor and security staff at all Tesco supermarkets across the UK by the end of October 2021.

Store manager Steve Winfield shared a picture of him and another staff member wearing the yellow body cams.

He said he was really pleased that from Monday (September 20) colleagues in selected areas of the St Peter's store will be wearing body worn cameras to help protect them when dealing with conflict.

Mr Winfield told Worcester News: "The most important thing for me each day as the store manager is the safety of my colleagues at all times.

"I think that the introduction of the body worn cameras will really help us to achieve everyone, everyday, home safely."

Tesco is bringing in a range of safety measures to protect its staff across the country from verbal and physical assaults.

Headsets will be introduced into all convenience stores with trials being run in large stores.

Staff will also have the ability to control access at all Tesco convenience stores thanks to a remote-control door access system at times when assaults are most likely to occur early in the morning or late at night.

Additional security measures at stores include safety screens in the most vulnerable convenience stores and 24-hour petrol station kiosks to protect colleagues working at the checkouts.

A Tesco spokesman said: “The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our priority so over the past 12 months we’ve introduced a range of additional security measures in all of our stores.”

Earlier this year, Tesco was one of a hundred of the UK’s biggest retailers calling on the Prime Minister to take action to tackle the “shocking violence and abuse” against shop workers.

The retailers reported a surge in incidents of violence in recent years which they say has been exacerbated by the pandemic when shop-floor staff had to enforce rules such as social distancing and wearing face masks.

In the letter, the industry leaders said: “One business reports a 76 per cent increase in abuse and a 10 per cent increase in violent attacks during Covid-19, of which over half involved a weapon, and many of our colleagues have been coughed at or spat on.

“This was a very serious issue for retailers long before the pandemic and the situation cannot be allowed to get any worse – there is a clear need now for better protection in law for retail workers.”