A trolley has rear support wheels (20) each having a toggle (52) which, when in a cocked position, hold the wheels in an operative position in which they are able to support the trolley. When the trolley ceases to bear down on the rear wheels, for example when an attempt is made to lift the trolley over a barrier (26) along the periphery of a defined area from which the trolley is not supposed to be removed, the toggle is triggered to move to an un-cocked position. When the toggle is in the un-cocked position the support wheels collapse and are no longer able to support the trolley. This will discourage removal of the trolley from the defined area.
An anti-theft system for a shopping cart includes a mounting structure for supporting anti-theft apparatus on the cart, the mounting structure being secured to the base frame of the cart. The anti-theft apparatus is removably carried by the mounting structure, with the anti-theft apparatus including a collapsible front suspension assembly having a housing; a first set of casters mounted to the housing, retractable pin elements carried by the housing and engagable with the mounting structure for maintaining the front suspension assembly in operative mode in which the first set of casters engage a supporting surface, a sensor assembly for detecting an activation signal and actuating the retractable pin elements to cause retraction of the pin elements and render the front suspension assembly inoperative, and a second set of casters fixed to the shopping cart base frame for preventing the cart from moving in a linear direction when the front suspension assembly is rendered inoperative.
