Huntingdon shop worker opens up on 'almost daily' abuse
A recent report found nearly 80% of shop workers in the East of England were abused last year
A shop worker in Huntingdon who's faced abused "almost daily" while doing her job is telling us how she's trying to move on.
Lianne Simpson from Diamond Hampers has been verbally and physically attacked by people she's helped through the community interest company since 2020.
"Unfortunately it happens weekly; it can almost be daily sometimes," she said.
Lianne works alongside a team of volunteers at stores in Huntingdon, where they provide free meals for those in need made up from food that would otherwise go to waste.
But it has come at a cost.
"It can be frustrating, emotionally draining; I love what I do and giving back to the community, but sometimes it can be really difficult and it makes you often want to retreat and give up," she said.
"With the volume of people we support, coming from lots of volatile and difficult backgrounds, we do seem to be targeted quite a lot for abuse in lots of different ways."
East of England in top five regions for abuse - survey
Lianne said she's mostly faced verbal abuse, as well as property damage, theft and being stalked by a client.
A survey by retail trade union - the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers - found last year, 79% of shop workers in the East of England were abused, the fifth highest rate of any region in the UK.
While 10% of incidents in the East were physical assaults.
Nationally, USDAW's survey of almost 9,000 workers found:
- 78% were verbally abused, higher than in 2024 and 2019;
- More than half of respondents were threatened;
- 11% of workers were assaulted.
Lianne said as well as being verbally abused, she's been a victim of physical assault on "many different levels".
"Because I'm the one that directly works with the clients we support, I think that's why I'm generally the one that's targeted the most.
"It is something at times, we struggle with; a lot of my volunteers are also quite vulnerable themselves and have their own difficulties, so it can be a challenge to face every day."
Fear of the unknown
A survey of more than 1,000 shop staff by the Retail Trust last summer found more than two fifths said they are being abused or attacked every week.
Out of those who responded to the survey, 45% felt the abuse had got worse in the last two years.
Lianne said because of her own experience, she sometimes fears who will walk through the shop doors next.
"I think we feel that fear probably every day," she admitted.
"We've had so many different levels of abuse and threats, I think we feel that threat every single day and wondering what today might bring.
"It can be hard to wake up with a positive attitude, but we do try."
New law in motion
The Crime and Policing Bill - which has not yet passed through Parliament - is set to make assaults on shop workers an offence.
Lianne said she has felt "let down" by the local police response to abuse faced by retail workers in and around Huntingdon.
But she believes this response is improving and feels there can be a better partnership between police and local businesses in tackling retail crime, as well as further training for shop staff on dealing with abuse from customers.
"We're like one big family; when there are difficult times, I'm not alone and I do have people to lean on and we are very supportive of one another," Lianne added.