A masked thief made an arse of a robbery when he exposed his face – and his underwear – during an armed raid on a newsagents in Levenshulme.
And now police are appealing for witnesses to help crack the case as CCTV footage was released showing the robber’s face… and behind.
The robber burst into Naran Newsagents, on Barlow Road, wearing a ‘Halloween’ mask on Saturday at about 11.45am.
He approached the cashier with a machete and demanded cash, before going round the counter and helping himself to takings.
The thief then tried to make his getaway, but slipped and dropped the cash and the knife.
He then frantically began stashing the stolen cash into his pockets and trousers, at which point his hood fell off revealing his ethnicity and shaved head.
The thief then picked up the knife from the floor and fled out of the shop – with his trousers halfway down his legs.
Police are now appealing to the public to help identify the man and have released footage of the entire incident which was captured on CCTV.
He is described as white, about 5ft 9in tall, wearing the mask with a black coat and dark trousers. The machete was said to be about an inch wide, eight inches long with an orange handle and a slight curve in the blade.
Detective Constable Andrea Holden-Cullum said: “Watching this CCTV is like watching a comedy of errors.
“After slipping over and spilling cash all over the floor, the thief then spent a good 60 seconds trying to pick it all back up and in doing so exposed part of his face and his backside and potentially identifying himself.
“However, as amusing as his bungling attempts were, I must stress this is no laughing matter. This man threatened a shopkeeper with a large knife and also intimated he would stab the victim if he refused to acquiesce to his demands.
“That makes him a dangerous individual we need to catch and I would therefore appeal to people to study the footage we have issued and if you recognise this man, then please call us.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Image courtesy of Google Maps with thanks
