A Morrisons store manager who was sacked after tackling an "aggressive" shoplifter has told GB News he does not regret his actions because he was "standing up for doing right".
Speaking to the People's Channel, Sean Egan revealed he was threatened with a police investigation after heroically stopping the thief in his tracks.
The 46-year-old was working at his Aldridge store in December when thief Daniel Kendall was spotted attempting to steal bottles of alcohol.
When Mr Egan approached Kendall, he told GB News that he was "aggressive" and "abusive" towards him.
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He said: "When I asked for the products back, he was abusive towards me and a female member of the management team. I told him that I'll use the footage and send it to the police, and he then became even more aggressive.
"As he was leaving the store he was still being abusive and aggressive, and he turned his head and spat at me. And in that instance, he crossed the line."
Mr Egan, who had been the manager of the store for almost 30 years, recalled then putting his arm out to block an attack from Kendall as he could hear him "clearing his throat to spit at me again".
The pair got into an altercation, with Mr Egan describing the thief as being "as strong as a bear" - before he was removed from the store and arrested by police.
Sean Egan was fired from his Morrisons store in Aldridge after an altercation with a shoplifter
|GB NEWS / GOOGLE
Two days after the incident, Mr Egan faced an internal investigation, who told him that he would be facing a "police investigation" and the possibility of "losing his job".
He explained: "It was two days later when my area manager came to conduct an investigation meeting with myself, and for several colleagues that witnessed this.
"They did the investigation told me that it would be going to disciplinary, and then he told me that the police are going to investigate me, and there's a potential I could lose my job.
"So I'm worried that I'm going to get a criminal record, and I'm worried that I'm going to lose my job. And I never had any investigation from the police, but unfortunately, I did lose my job."
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Aldridge MP Wendy Norton threw her support behind Mr Egan on GB News
|GB NEWS
Asked by host Miriam Cates about the support he has received since being sacked, Mr Egan revealed he has been "inundated" with messages from people in similar situations, and has had support from "across the world".
He told GB News: "I've been inundated with messages on social media of people who have lost their jobs or have been involved in very similar cases, and the outpouring of support and empathy from the public in regards to having very similar situations.
"It has been amazing, I've had support from across the world, I've had support from a gentleman in Aberdeen, Scotland, telling me of very similar circumstances, he's a shopkeeper of over 60 years. So the outpour is amazing in terms of support."
Asked by host Christopher Hope if he would like his job back at the store, Mr Egan was unsure, stressing how the company "took everything" from him despite nearly three decades of service.
He said: "Do I want for want to work for this company that I give so much for and they've taken everything away from me? I don't know. Right now, at this minute, I couldn't say.
Mr Egan told GB News that he 'does not regret' intervening in the incident and 'standing up for what's right'
|GB NEWS
"I don't regret standing for the principle of doing right. Understanding that, yeah, I was at risk in that situation, but I was protecting the people around me.
"And ultimately, my job as a store manager is to protect my stock, is to protect what the business wants. Yes, the business wants to be profitable, but the business wants me as a store manager to look after every point of that store."
In a statement, a spokesman for Morrisons told GB News: "We are continuing to take wide ranging action to address the threat of shoplifting or violence in our stores.
"The health and safety of all colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to Morrisons. We have very clear guidance, procedures and controls in place to protect our colleagues and customers from the risk of harm, which must be strictly followed.
"These include detailed procedures for handling shoplifting incidents, which are in place to protect both the colleague involved and surrounding colleagues and customers, and which seek to de-escalate and calmly control the situation. We will not ask colleagues to put themselves at risk.
"As a responsible employer, our focus is entirely on taking the correct action to ensure health and safety is maintained at all times."