Balcatta, Perth security guard clashes with alleged Coles thief

The increasing struggle to make ends meet due to the rising cost of living has seemingly led to a fiery clash between a mall security guard and a suspected thief.

Extraordinary footage has emerged of an expletive altercation between a security guard in Perth and a customer who appeared to be attempting to take off with a trolley full of supplies.

The footage, filmed in the mostly middle-class northern suburb of Balcatta, shows the security guard and woman engaged in a fierce battle over a Coles shopping cart full of groceries, including soda.

The struggle threatens to spill over into oncoming traffic on a nearby busy road.

The woman insists she paid for the purchases and showed them to a female shop assistant.

“I showed her mate, I paid for it,” she says.

But the adamant security guard doesn’t believe her story and demands she go back to the mall with him.

“When you stop doing that, we’ll go back,” he said.

He holds on to the trolley to prevent the woman from going anywhere as the argument escalates.

“I showed the lady,” she argues.

He replied, “No no no!”

It is currently unclear how the incident ended.

A spokesman told Daily Mail Australia the incident had not been reported to Western Australia Police.

The Reserve Bank on Tuesday registered its 10th consecutive rate hike after inflation recently rose 7.8 percent to Australia’s highest level in 32 years.

It comes as other shop owners in Perth raised concerns about the spike in shoplifting.

An IGA grocery store manager says her store loses thousands of dollars every week as thieves hide their stolen inventory in bags and clothing.

“They’re really brutal,” she told Seven News.

“The cost of living and the pressure aren’t helping the problem.”

Charities also say rising costs are pushing families to the brink.