Tesco installs anti-theft ROBOTS which startle shoplifters by blasting strobing light in their eyes before alerting cops

TESCO has installed anti-theft ROBOTS which startle shoplifters by blasting strobing light in their eyes before alerting cops.

The retail chain has installed anti-theft “armadillos” in stores across London after a spate of smash-and-grab attacks while shops are closed.

Each perimeter intrusion detection device, which can cost £10k a month to hire, recognises movement using multiple cameras.

The blue and yellow computers can also startle would-be robbers with a strobing bright light and automatically sends footage to a human controller, who can then alert the police within seconds of an incident occurring.

If a device is set off by intruders, the machine barks in a thick Northern Irish accent: “Warning, this is security.

“Your presence has been detected.

“The owner and police have been informed.”

A retail source said: “It’s a serious device used on hundreds of building sites and other businesses around the world.

“They scream at you in a threatening tone and accent – so they’re like Northern Irish Daleks, though sadly they can’t move by themselves.

“But if the police won’t respond to store managers when they call to say they’ve been robbed, why would they suddenly respond to a robot?”

Earlier this year we told how 4ft smoke-belching sentries had been installed in some Tesco stores to spray overnight raiders with thick mist if they tried to break in.

Shops previously became a target for looters during two weeks of far-right violence last month.

In Plymouth a man was jailed for using the cover of disorder to smash into a Tesco Express and steal booze in an “opportunistic” robbery.

Guy Sullivan, 43, was caged for 16 months after admitting to pinching £281 in beer, wine and spirits.

Tesco said: “This photo shows a security device which is used in some stores outside of opening hours, when needed, such as to prevent burglary or following damage to our property.

“The unit should not have been on the shop floor during opening hours.”