St Peters Cellars manager Henry Harding says staff have had knives pulled on them by teens

Brazen teen criminals - some as young as 14 – are targeting bottle shops as “they know they can get away with it”, frustrated workers have revealed.

Terrified bottle shop workers say they have stopped calling police over armed robberies as young offenders “know they can get away with it.”

They say teenagers are stealing trolleys filled with alcohol at least once a week, with staff now accepting the brazen thefts as part of the job.

St Peters Cellars manager Henry Harding said a 53-year-old worker, who has worked at the store for 25 years, had a knife pulled on him by a gang of teens late last year.

“They came into the store, grabbed some premixed drinks and ran out the front door, and he went out the front to confront them,” Mr Harding said.

St Peters Cellars manager Henry Harding. Picture: RoyVPhotography

“At that point, they showed him they had a knife and they were going to take care of this old bloke and he just thought it’s not worth it and he let them go.

“He was pretty shook up that night, especially by the fact they were kids.”

It comes after nine young people - one just 14 years old - were arrested on Thursday morning after allegedly stealing a haul of alcohol from a Marden bottle shop.

The group boarded a bus towards the city, but were quickly tracked down on Botanic Road, where police found stolen bottles of alcohol worth hundreds of dollars.

Police stopped a bus and found a group of young people and a number of the stolen bottles of alcohol. Picutre: SA Police

All of the alleged offenders were released on bail and will face court at a later date.

Mr Harding said there were no consequences for young offenders.

“It’s extremely concerning because they know they can’t be caught,” Mr Harding said.

“Even if they get caught, they know they are going to get bailed, nothing really terrible is going to happen to them so they feel totally empowered to do the crimes.

“We can’t confront them because it’s so dangerous.

“It’s not worth somebody’s life, so we have to temper that aggression with the consideration that it’s not worth it.”

One venue manager told The Advertiser thefts were now a weekly occurrence, while another worker said teens regularly stole trolleys full of alcohol.