Sainsbury’s has sacked a ‘beloved’ employee after he intervened to help a security guard restrain two shoplifters.

Jorge Costa, 57, had worked at the Hertford superstore for two years and had earned a legion of fans for his ‘dedicated’ and ‘exceptional’ service managing the fruit and vegetable section.

But that all came to an end after he was sacked for intervening to help a colleague while working at the branch early on July 1, leaving him ‘depressed’ and struggling to find a new job.

Mr Costa told the Daily Mail he heard ‘a woman screaming for help’, and turned to see a security guard struggling to apprehend two suspected shoplifters.

‘I saw the security guard fighting with two shoplifters. They were trying to hold both of them, I tried to stop them running away with the goods.

‘I went and held one of the shoplifters, I’ve asked many times for them to leave the goods on the floor and I’ll let [them] go.’

Mr Costa admits he then punched one of the shoplifters but insists this was in self-defence.

The would-be shoplifters abandoned the items they had taken and left the store.

But the former employee said he was treated ‘like a hero’ after the incident, with the mainly female staff thanking him for intervening.

Two weeks after his courageous act, Mr Costa was suspended and subsequently dismissed.

A letter informing Mr Costa of his dismissal stated he had ‘put yourself and other colleagues at risk’.

‘After everything finished everyone came to me and thanked me,’ Mr Costa said.

‘I’m very disappointed [about being dismissed], I’ve been depressed for a long time. I think it’s wrong I was treated like this, it’s been hard for me to find a job.

‘I’d worked at Sainsbury’s for two years. I’d never been late, never missed one day.’

His dismissal letter shows Sainsbury’s found Mr Costa was not asked for help by colleagues because no scream could be heard on bodycam footage, understood to have been supplied by the store’s assistant manager.

But he told the Mail this footage, shown to him during misconduct proceedings, only captured the second half of the incident as she had not been present when it began, which is why no appeal for help from shop floor staff is heard.

Bosses ruled he chose to involve himself in the incident ‘even though your manager had told you to be careful’. It did not state any manager told Mr Costa not to act.

Read More: Sainsbury’s sacks ‘beloved’ worker who stepped in to help security guard restrain shoplifters