Wife's fury at Halfords' reply to worker injured while confronting shoplifters
Harrowing CCTV captures vicious shoplifters subject a Halfords employee to a brutal assault in his store.
Marty Scott, 57, suffered a stroke following the ordeal in his workplace. He tried to stop the yobs stealing at the branch in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, but was booted in the head and chest.
Footage shared to Mirror shows the thugs throw Mr Scott to the ground, and kick him repeatedly in front of horrified customers, who desperately try to protect the dad. However, Halfords has allegedly blamed Mr Scott, saying taking such action is against store policy.
He is now taking legal action as he struggles with basic cognitive functions and is struck by bouts of depression and anxiety. Scans have also shown he has a brain aneurism. Mr Scott had worked for the company for 40 years but quit his job after the ordeal, which happened more than two years ago. He's lived with anxiety throughout this period as the CPS has confirmed no further action will be taken.
The thugs turned on Marty Scott when he tried to stop them shoplifting (Halfords via Kevin Donald)Halfords initially offered Mr Scott just £16,000 in compensation, which was eventually upped to £20,000 but Mr Scott rejected both. He says he was told the "root cause" of the issue had been his attempts to stop the two men.
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Marty's wife Kim, 51, said the way her husband has been treated by his former employers is "appalling", adding that shoplifting is "out of control". She said: "This is what happens when someone tries to stop these people helping themselves." The firm's lawyers, though, told the Sun: "It is company policy not to attempt to retrieve stock or aggravate the situation and the claimant went directly against this policy, placing himself and potentially others at risk."
Mr Scott is seen talking to the shoplifters to deter them at the start of the clip (Halfords via Kevin Donald)Weeks before the attack, Marty had expressed his fears of the increased danger faced by him and colleagues from shoplifters and called for security to be increased. He told his bosses in writing he was worried "sooner or later a colleague is going to get hurt".
Marty's brother-in-law Cliff Dalton set up a GoFundMe page to help support the family. Describing the incident, he wrote: "Marty initially asked the men to just leave his shop, but they wouldn't. Instead they turned on him when he tried to usher them both out and retrieve some stolen goods that one of them brazenly put in his jacket pocket.
"For this action alone, Marty was wrestled to the floor by them both (while still in the shop) and kicked in the chest while on the floor. He was then kicked in the head as he tried to stand back up. The incident was caught on CCTV in-store and it shows very clearly that if not for the intervention of a couple of good Samaritan customers in the shop at the time, chasing them off premises, Marty may well not have walked away at all from the incident.
Mr Scott, pictured with wife Kim, suffered a stroke after the beating (Kim Scott)"But Marty's physical injuries from this attack were still severe. Two days after it took place he suffered a stroke to add to his more obvious physical injuries, while at an emotional level he struggled to even comprehend what had happened. Now, two years on, Marty suffers with PTSD; he has trouble with basic cognitive functions, frequently forgets about things that he has done or conversations he has just had.
"He is prone to bouts of depression, anxiety, confusion and mood swings. Further scans have since shown that Marty also has a brain aneurism, so his future health prospects remain most unclear on many fronts. What is clear, though - is that he is not the same husband, father, person, since this attack."
A CPS Spokesperson said: “In August last year, we received a file of police from Cleveland Police in relation to two suspects alleged to have committed offences in the Halfords store in Stockton. At that time, there was no admissible evidence made available to us that would positively identify either of these men as having carried out the offences. In July of this year, this evidence had still not been received and we took the appropriate decision to authorise no further action against either suspect.”
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