Theft has become so bad in San Francisco that some stores are now padlocking shut their freezers and tying metal chains to ensure the doors remain closed overnight.

Video shot by one potential shopper at a local Walgreens in the city sees aisle after aisle of products locked away behind Perspex and glass, out of the reach of thieves.

Even lower-value items such as toothpaste and tissues are kept under lock and key, such is the rampant theft that has been occurring in many of the city’s pharmacies and supermarkets.

At one particular location, on 16th Street and Geary Blvd, the freezer doors are entirely chained up, with staff concerned thieves will come into the store overnight to empty the contents.

Shop workers have already reported a problem with thieves coming in to the store as many as 20 times a day to fill their bags full of products including items that need to be kept at cool temperatures such as frozen pizza and ice cream.

The problem of such wanton theft is not unique to San Francisco; other big cities across the nation including in New York have also been dealing with the problem over the last few years.

In some cases, it has left pharmacy chains no option but to leave areas completely as the massive thefts hurt the bottom line.

The pictures of chained-up merchandise marks a new low point, with stores risking alienating legitimate loyal customers who can no longer be bothered to go through the rigmarole of having to summon staff simply to grab something off the shelf.

Another local branch of Walgreens in San Francisco is completely boarded up, although still open, and was recently the scene of a fatal confrontation between a homeless trans woman and a security guard.

Similar scenes appear to be playing out at stores across California. Across San Francisco Bay, in Vallejo, a supermarket desperate to slow the constant shoplifting that has plagued it has installed giant metal barriers at exits to stop the thefts.

Safeway recently added metal emergency exit gates in front of one of the entrances that warn an ‘alarm will sound’ if thieves try to leave the building.

The Vallejo store closed a second entrance and other locations are said to be following suit to deter thieves. Some Safeway locations installed exit bars months ago, as one shopper took to Twitter to show one store going to the extreme, blocking off closed checkout lanes with large metal gates, as well as lining pathways leading out of the store with obstructions as well.