A Sainsbury’s thief got stuck in the air whilst breaking through the supermarket’s ceiling to steal scratchcards.
CCTV footage shows the man attempting to lower himself to the ground of the Sainsbury’s Local store in Radford, Nottingham.
After they spotted his legs dangling from a hole in the ceiling, staff at the store on Waverly Street called 999 at 6am on February 21.
Whilst dangling in the air, the thief knocks many items off the shelf as he tries to free his upper body.
Whilst dangling in the air, the thief knocks many items off the shelf as he tries to free his upper body
Nottinghamshire Police
He eventually managed to free himself and landed on the ground, with a ceiling panel toppling down with him.
Footage released by Nottinghamshire Police then shows the thief, who is wearing a black tracksuit and a blue t-shirt under a black hooded coat, then roaming around the store with an orange bag for life.
He then went behind the tills where he proceeded to pull off £200 worth of National Lottery scratchcards from the kiosk.
The thief also placed crisps, washing detergents and food products into a bag before fleeing the store via a fire exit, police said.
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Footage released by Nottinghamshire Police then shows the thief, who is wearing black trackies and a blue t-shirt under a black hooded coat, then roaming around the store with an orange bag for life
Nottinghamshire Police
Six minutes after receiving the 999 call, officers arrived at the scene of the crime. They found a man that matched his description in a nearby street.
A 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of burglary and taken into custody.
Inspector Liz Gaskin, of the City Central neighbourhood policing team, said: “This was fantastic work by the Response officers who ensured a suspect was swiftly in handcuffs.
“The store was closed at the time of the incident and so did not impact on members of the public.
He then went behind the tills where he proceeded to pull off £200 worth of National Lottery scratchcards from the kiosk
Nottinghamshire Police
“However it was an alarming incident for the staff and I’d like to thank them for alerting us to the burglary.
“No one should arrive for a shift to discover a burglar inside their place of work and I hope they are reassured by the arrest.
“As shown today, we will always offer a robust response when community stores are targeted like this and their shelves ransacked.”
