Chch thief not the brightest

A man who stole a wad of cash from a Christchurch record store gave police an easy trail to follow after reserving a Pink Floyd album and leaving his name and phone number in a book behind the counter. The thief, a regular customer, was also caught in the act by CCTV cameras, Penny Lane Records owner Garry Knight said.

The footage showed the man waiting until a store employee was busy with another customer before hitting a button to open the cash register, grabbing a wad of $10 and $20 notes and running out of the store about 5.15pm on Friday. Only minutes earlier, he had taken a copy of Pink Floyd's The Wall album to the desk and asked staff to hold it for him, leaving behind his contact details.

Mr Knight said the man had to rank among the stupidest of thieves."It's got to be up there as one of the dumbest things." Mr Knight would not say how much cash was taken, but as it was late in the day, the takings in the register would have been substantial.