Mad December Round-up

By all accounts, 2016 turned out to be a bit of a mad year. The UK voted to leave Europe, the USA elected Donald Trump as its new Commander-in-Chief and more celebrities popped their clogs than we knew what to do with.

However, it seems some folk weren’t quite content with the excitement on offer and decided to conjure up some of their own through a spot of sticky-fingered shoplifting. Fortunately for the shop owners – and for the viewing public – these bungling burglars were foiled by empty tills and vigilant CCTV systems, allowing all the world to marvel at their incompetence.

The pantyhose prowler

One man had clearly been watching too many movies as he broke into a Food Company store in Essex with a pair of tights over his head. The man ignored the stacks of expensive food and drink on the shelves all around him, instead making a beeline straight for the till.

Unfortunately for him, the cash register had been emptied prior to the store’s closure for the festive period. “Thankfully it was only the till which was taken and it had nothing in it anyway,” explained Aaron Linch, manager of the luxury food store. “It’s surprising really as we have bottles of wine and gifts. I suppose he was an opportunist and thought he was going to get his hands on some Christmas takings.”

While the hosiery did do a decent job of disguising his facial features, the CCTV captured clear images of his height, build and clothing, giving Mr Linch hope that the culprit will be brought to justice.

Pay peanuts, get monkeys

Meanwhile, another opportunistic burglar in Harlesden, London, also found an empty till as reward for his exertions, but decided to stock up on peanuts instead.

After breaking in to the Elmwood Tennis Club, the bandit ransacked the back bar, only to find that the takings had already been removed from the till. Determined not to leave empty-handed, however, the man satisfied himself with filling his pockets with KP products, including plenty of packs of dry roasted and one or two spicy chilli varieties.

His fruitless endeavours were captured on CCTV and the rozzers are keen for witnesses to come forward regarding the break-in. “We are keen to identify the man in the CCTV footage so we can speak to him about the incident,” said the Old Bill in an official statement. “We would also urge anyone who has information that could assist the investigation to contact us.”

Smile for the camera!

Down in Bournemouth, a pair of unscrupulous criminals are unlikely to get off scot-free from their close shave with CCTV after breaking in to a barber shop in Lansdowne on Christmas Day.

The duo successfully made off with the contents of the till (which unfortunately was not bare this time and amounted to roughly £1,500 in cash), an iPad, a camera, plenty of barbering paraphernalia and refurbishing tools believed to be in excess of £7,000.

But while they left with their swag bags well and truly bulging, they didn’t quite make a clean break of it. Before scarpering, the pair took turns in staring directly into a CCTV camera as they tried to work out what it was, before deciding it was “a Bluetooth, WiFi thing innit” and leaving it be.

Owner of the shop Luca Ashbee is hopeful that the footage will aid in the couple’s capture and the return of his goods and praised the efficacy of CCTV. “I’m super glad that iCloud cameras exist, to expose bungling burglaries… it’s like our own Home Alone film!” he said.

Home security is no laughing matter

Though these stories show a lighter side to home intrusion, the reality is that thousands of burglaries take place every day and in the last example, the miscreants actually made off with quite a lot of stolen booty. Make sure your property is secured by taking all of the necessary precautions and installing an up-to-date home security system – for friendly, professional advice, get in touch with the dedicated team at Blackburn Arms today.