Photo by A 'shoplifting challenge' on TikTok is believed to behind a number of robberies in shops in Galway in the last few weeks.
There was a report to councillors about the number of shop thefts in the last year, with one store claiming it lost 400 thousand euro worth of stock in that time.
The challenge on the social media app sees mainly young people filming themselves going into shops and then uploading the footage of them shoplifting.
Business owner and Labour councillor Niall McNellis says it's the age profile which is very worrying:
"It's between the ages of 13 and 16."
"So what's happening is they're coming into town with a small bit of pocket money but they're going home then with all the lip gloss and the makeup and the new jacket and the hats."
"That's where it gets really scare because it's very difficult then to go off and try and prosecute a 13 to 16 year old."
