Desperate Superdrug bosses forced to take drastic step to stop ‘mass thefts’ of £23 product by teen girls

TEEN girls are fuelling the shoplifting crimewave — swiping Barbie-themed electric toothbrushes.

Chiefs at Superdrug have started stashing the £22.95 gizmos behind counters after “mass thefts”.

The Hismile devices have been removed from shelves and replaced with empty boxes which shoppers must take to the tills to make a purchase.

Even the £3.48 toothbrush head refills are now security tagged.

One staff member at a store in Croydon, South London, told us: “We keep them in the stock room now and just leave the packaging out on the shop floor.

“We get a lot of thefts from schoolgirls. They distract us — they also go for the make-up and fake eyelashes.

“The college girls come in and do the same.”

We revealed in September how Superdrug had been forced to slap security tags on wart and bunion treatments and blood pressure monitors.

Trendy pimple patches popular with celebs including Justin Bieber got the same treatment in July after being targeted by thieves.

In February, Superdrug issued bodycams and headsets to staff.

Graham Wynn, a director at the British Retail Consortium said: “Thieves are becoming bolder, more aggressive.

“The lack of effective police response has left many criminals feeling that they can shoplift with impunity.”

Superdrug said: “We regularly trial different ways to display and protect our products.”