Buffeted by job losses and credit crunch, many British consumers resorted to shop-lifting of goods worth 4.88 billion pounds (USD 8.13 billion) during the first six months of 2009, latest industry figures have shown.

Shop-lifting has surged to record levels in the country due to recession, with the value of stolen retail goods stolen rising by 20 per cent to 4.88 billion pounds this year until June, the study by Centre for Retail Research said.

Britain had the highest amount in value of shop-lifted goods in Europe and was third behind the US and Japan globally, data collected from 1,069 retailers suggests.

There has been a rise in "middle-class" shoplifters, said Checkpoint Systems, which commissioned the report, adding that more people now steal goods simply to "maintain their standard of living" rather than to sell them on.

"This is driving theft of items such as cosmetics, perfumes and face creams, alcohol, fresh meat, mobile phones, computer games and DVDs, as well as small electrical goods like cameras, iPods and personal care gadgets," Checkpoint Systems vice-president Neil Matthews said.

Over the past year, UK retailers invested over 920 million pounds in security measures to tackle theft.

"The UK's retail industry has seen its largest ever increase in shoplifting over the last 12 months, and it comes at a time when the industry can least afford it. Retailers simply cannot afford to ignore this problem," Matthews said.