Bit off the wall, Bobisox, but it gave me a laff! Off a police website
24-Nov-09
Mystery crook strips shelves - but only of Marmite...
This Marmite-loving thief has forced a petrol station to stop stocking the spread — because he persistently steals every jar.
The mysterious crook has carried out a month-long Marmite crime wave, leaving staff baffled.
In total he has swiped 18 jars of the condiment in four different raids — costing more than £50.
Fed up bosses at W. Grose Shell Garage in Kingsthorpe, Northants, have now stopped buying in the spread until the thief is caught.
Bemused manager Jim Keary, 54, said: "We can't work out why he was doing it. Maybe he's got a pregnant wife with really strong cravings.
"He knows what he wants - one night he took all but two jars then he came back for those the next night.
"Someone suggested that they might be hiding drugs in there. The Marmite would hide the smell.
"We have stopped selling Marmite now because of this. What's the point in selling something, if every time you stock it - it gets stolen?"
CCTV images taken in July show the shaven-headed man entering the shop and then leaving 17 minutes later with a carrier bag full of Marmite.
The man is in his 30s, and was wearing jeans, white trainers, a white polo shirt and a black jacket with a white collar and a white stripe across the chest.
Northamptonshire Police are keen to identify the suspect.