Two colleagues are involved in apprehending the suspected thief, while four members of the public also surround a man who is wearing grey joggers and a black coat with his hood up.

Over the sound of an alarm bell ringing, a female staff member can be heard saying “there we go,” as she appears to pull two blocks of Cathedral City mature cheddar from the man’s coat pockets and places them on top of a stack of drinks.

A third block of cheese falls to the floor, at which point the man shouts “get off me”, as he tries to push the worker away.

She yells back “I won’t”, and holds the man’s arms. Shouts of “you’re banned, leave,” can also be heard.

Meanwhile, the person who is filming inside the store says: “Get out of the shop”.

Much of the rest of the scuffle is inaudible.

The man turns his back on the worker, but she continues to cling to his sleeves before he is released at the door and walks out, at which point she shouts: “Don’t come back”.

He is joined by another man, who has been watching on during the incident.

It is unknown whether any goods were stolen.

An Aldi spokesman said it would not be appropriate to comment as there is an ongoing police investigation into the incident, which took place at around 5pm on May 22.

The video was posted on social media and has attracted 54,000 views as well as almost 200 comments, many of which are supportive of the Aldi worker.

One person said: “I hope her bosses give her a big reward for trying to protect their goods.”

Another commented: “Good on the store assistant, she wasn’t taking any s***.

Read more: Kent security guard reveals dangerous reality of dealing with shoplifters

Read more: Opinion: Would you challenge a shoplifter? I saw boys stealing and turned a blind eye

“But in fairness, taking matters into her own hands ain’t what she is getting paid for.”

“You go, girl. Not on your shift,” someone else said.

The video comes as new figures show reports of shoplifting have increased by 55% across the county in the past four years.

Last week, Kent Police published its crime statistics for the year, which showed that while reports of most offences were going down, shoplifting had risen by 11.2%.

There were 16,839 offences recorded, but the data also shows that 5,702 suspects were interviewed - up 24.1%. This has rocketed by nearly 64% in the past four years.

The police report explained the rise in recorded shoplifting cases was being driven up by better reporting processes.

Just a day after the statistics were released, a thief was jailed for nine months after attacking a shop worker at a Co-op store in Sittingbourne.

Connor Openshaw smashed a glass bottle on a shop worker and threatened his victim with a knife after being challenged for stealing beer.

Just down the road in Faversham, another Co-op worker was taken to hospital in April after shoplifting teens allegedly hit him with a pack of beer.

And in September, a video was released of prolific thief Lucille Willett kicking, spitting on and hitting a Co-op staff member with a basket in a vile attack, again in Faversham.

A worker at the store said: “We’ve had shoplifters before but none who have been so brazen.”