THIS is the moment a suspected burglar took his shoes off before stealing a safe full of cash from a mosque.
CCTV footage showed the man sneaking in before using a wheelie bin to escape with his loot.
Police have now issued an appeal for anyone to help identify or apprehend the suspect to contact them.
But before entering the mosque, the man removed his shoes and made his was through the prayer hall to the safe.
A police spokesperson said: “Nobody has been arrested at this time and work is ongoing to identify and apprehend the suspect.
“We take incidents of this nature extremely seriously and we have dedicated officers assigned to this case.”
Police were contacted at 8.09pm on Monday, December 8, following reports of a burglary at the Masjid-e-Raza in Balaclava Street, Blackburn.
The robbery took place between 5.30pm and 5.37pm that day.
Surveillance footage shows the male entering the Blackburn mosque and walking up to the door of the prayer hall.
But before entering the hall, he is seen removing his shoes – an act of respect within Islam.
Once the burglar accessed the safe, said to contain cash donated by worshippers, he pushed the safe down a flight of stairs.
The suspect then used a wheelie bin to transport the safe to the exit where he put his shoes back on before leaving.
Lancashire Police said they are treating the theft “extremely seriously”, but nobody has been arrested at this stage.
The force said enquiries are ongoing to identify the suspect in the CCTV footage.
They are asking for anyone with information to call 101 and quote log 1232 of December 8, 2025.
