Clumsy burglar trips up

The burglar. Photo / Supplied

A bungling thief in West Auckland did only one thing right last night - he got away.

But police hope his decision to remove his sunglasses as he stared down the lens of a security camera will see him arrested today.

The young man was filmed before walking into the Bamboo Garden takeaway in New Lynn, but the only thing he took away was the cash register.

CCTV footage shows him tumbling from the store with the till's power lead wrapped around his leg.

Several metres later he drops the machine altogether and drags it along the ground behind him as he turns the corner.

Allan Xia was working at the takeaway when the man entered.

"He came in shouting, 'where's the money, where's the money, where's the money'," he said.

"We were scared to go outside in case he was still there. We waited maybe one or two minutes before calling police and going outside.

"Some of the money had fallen on the ground, we got that back."

* Detective Andrew Owens urged anyone who recognised the man to call Henderson Police station on 09 839 0600.