WATCH the surprising moment a thief tries to steal a golden octopus from an antique shop – by stuffing it down her trousers.
The unique strategy was captured on CCTV footage at Battlesbridge Antiques Centre in Essex.
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Perhaps the most shocking part is that the brazen thief managed to get away with it – at least for a few days.
Although the theft occurred on July 1, staff only noticed that the oddly-shaped candlestick holder had gone missing this week.
After looking back through CCTV footage, the owners discovered video of a man and a woman entering the store, before the woman takes the candles out of the holder and puts the antique down her trousers.
At the start of the footage, a man in an orange top can be seen browsing the shelves nearby.
He then taps on the octopus candlestick holder, pointing it out to the woman he is with.
The pair then continue to stand around idly looking at the shelves in the vicinity.
As the man walks over to the rotating display of jewellery, the woman appears to be getting a closer look at the eight-legged object.
They try to act casual by appearing to browse other items around the shop.
The woman then begins removing the candles from the display.
She then starts to stuff the octopus under her trousers – not an easy feat given how large the sculpture is.
The curve of its eight-legs seems to be giving her some trouble as she uses her top to hide the rest of it.
A glint of gold can still be seen poking out of her jumper which she then attempts to cover behind her bag.
Manager Claire Wade told Essex Live that they’ve only had shoplifters steal from the store a few times, and “it’s mainly been young or middle-aged men, not grandparents.”
She said that the husband had told the woman which item to take and kept a lookout while she completed the tricky manoeuvre.
Claire plans to report the incident to the police once they have reviewed all of the CCTV footage on site, as she has rented part of the centre for 15 years.
She added: “We were just in shock, it’s a great big thing to put down your trousers isn’t it?”
The item was only worth around £40 and can be bought online, as Claire said: “I don’t know why she wanted it.”
They are using the incident as a warning to customers that they won’t tolerate shoplifting.
She said: “We want people to know that you can’t just turn up at the centre and just help yourself. We’re going to do a wall of shame.”
Commenters on the video were just as shocked by the behaviour as the owner was.
One said: “Wow, very desperate and very sad.”
While another jokingly said: “Take it she didn’t like the candles.”
