Britain is the shoplifting capital of Europe, with more than £1.5 billion worth of products a year being stolen by customers.

Most of the goods will be stolen in the four weeks before Christmas, with £26.4 million worth of items disappearing from supermarket shelves, shops and off-licences every day. Another £1.6 billion worth of products will be stolen by employees or lost in the distribution chain.

As a result of the chronic theft, every household in Britain will have to pay an extra £150 for their goods this year.

The most popular goods to be targeted by thieves are alcohol, razor blades, accessories and specialist meats.

Britain has topped the table in Europe for the last seven years, meaning consumers have paid hundreds of pounds extra to cover the cost of the thefts.

David Nuttall, the managing director of Checkpoint Systems, who helped compile the report, said: “Shops in Britain are open 24/7, which means that there are more outlets open, which means there is more opportunity for theft.

“In my view, theft is not high enough on the retail agenda and it is accepted that there will be losses. If it was a priority then we could reduce the cost, which would mean more money for retailers, and they could then theoretically reduce prices for customers.”

The annual Global Retail Theft Barometer looked at more than 800 retail giants, covering 32 countries, and responsible for £447 billion worth of sales every year and found that Britain had the worst record for what it refers to as “shrinkage”.

It has topped the table for the past three years in Europe.

The report, which was compiled by the Centre for Retail Research in Nottingham and Checkpoint Systems, in the year up to July found that theft had cost retail establishments a total of £49.8 billion a year globally.

Overall, shoplifting accounted for almost £21 billion, staff theft for £17.5 billion, supplier theft and fraud took up £3.1 billion and accounting and administrative errors accounted for £8.2 billion. Last year the amount lost to British retailers because of “shrinkage” fell by 3.3 per cent but the amount spent on security fell by 22 per cent to £769 million.

Neil Matthews, the vice-president of Checkpoint Systems, said: “Retailers must take the financial implications of theft on their businesses and their customers more seriously. Over the past year, the level of investment in security has dropped and this has had a detrimental effect on the level of protection and, therefore, the profit margins for retailers.

“The importance of security is widely acknowledged but I am shocked that most stolen items still remain unprotected. Retailers must put the investment where their mouth is, as there is a clear link between spend on security and the amount of shrinkage experienced.”

The US has the worst record for “shrinkage”, losing about £20 billion a year, although it is one of just a handful of markets where staff theft accounts for more losses than customer theft.

The British Retail Consortium’s crime survey, released last month, found that shoplifting had increased by 65 per cent – its highest level in ten years since the introduction of £80 on-the-spot fines.

Last year, an estimated 33,000 offenders were punished with a fixed penalty notice.

Who takes what

Top ten stolen items
1. Alcohol
2. Cosmetics
3.Women’s wear
4. Perfumes and aftershaves
5. Razor blades
6. DVDs and CDs
7. Children’s clothes
8. Accessories
9. Designer clothes
10. Specialist foods

Worst Countries in Europe
1. Britain
2. France
3. Germany
4. Italy
5. Spain
6. Poland
7. Belgium/Luxembourg
8. The Netherlands
9. Sweden
10. Switzerland

Times Recommends

• The fourth plinth art project: famous for 60 minutes
• Rubik has a new puzzle to irritate the nation
• Is it Radio 4 or Radio Bore?