Burglar snacks on nuts and sings during pub raid

2 hours ago

Claire Cavanagh,Presenter, BBC Radio Bristoland

Mike Gilmore,Bristol

News image — The robber snacked on a packet of nuts while stealing expensive bottles of alcohol

Finn Reeves An opened packet of dry roasted Nobby's Nuts sits in the centre of the image, with several nuts strewn across a wooden counter. The packet is bright yellow with black text on it — The robber snacked on a packet of nuts while stealing expensive bottles of alcohol

A burglar has been caught on CCTV snacking on nuts and singing along to a pub's stereo after breaking into the premises.

The Victoria Ale House in Clifton, Bristol, was broken into in the early hours of 25 June, with more than £1,000 worth of merchandise stolen.

Landlord Finn Reeves said he was disappointed to lose about £1,000 of items, but managed to joke about "the cheek" of the thief taking "two handfuls of Nobby's Nuts, and then opening a packet to have a little munch".

Avon and Somerset Police said forensics offers had been to the scene and anyone with information about the break-in has been asked to contact the force.

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CCTV captured just after 03:00 BST shows a man peering in one window of the pub, before smashing another window with a storm drain cover.

He can then be seen entering the pub and heading behind the counter, where he can be heard singing along to the pub's speakers while he fills a bag.

He then walks into another frame of CCTV and can be seen ripping open a box of nuts, and taking a handful of packets and ramming them into his pockets.

Several bottles of high-end alcohol were taken from the pub, including bottles of Monkey 47 and Whitley Neill Raspberry gin, along with a bottle of Laphroaig whiskey, amounting to more than a £1,000 in lost revenue.

A packet of half-eaten Nobby's Nuts was left at the scene.

Finn Reeves A front door of a building with the window smashed. The door is light grey and the rest of the building is cream coloured — The glass over the pub door was broken with a storm drain cover

The break-in took place a week before the pub's grand reopening, with first-time landlord Reeves telling BBC Radio Bristol presenter Claire Cavanagh of his disappointment upon seeing the pub that day.

"It's not a nice feeling, turning the corner and seeing a drain hole cover chucked through your window."

Despite the break-in, Reeves remained in good spirits, joking that if anyone knew of a missing drain cover, he had "the means to fill it".

"Otherwise, it's just going to become a really heavy doorstop."