A PAIR of bumbling thieves who robbed a designer footwear store later discovered they had swiped 100 right-footed shoes.
Cops swooped in to arrest the suspects, aged 18 and 19, following reports of a burglary at Lanx Shoes in Whalley Range in Manchester.
The latter was nabbed by police following a high-speed chase, while the former was taken into custody shortly after.
One staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, said the business has slapped the duo with a playful nickname following the botched crime.
“They stole about 100 individual shoes,” they said.
“They’re not pairs, they’re all the right foot of a pair.
“About 100 shoes, so Marco has nicknamed them the ‘half-a-pair bandits.’
“It’s so odd because in shoe shops, you never display a full pair of shoes.
“They ran into the shop, didn’t look at what they were taking and just bundled shoes into their arms and ran out.
The team member said the shop hopes to continue business as usual despite the incident.
“It was just so odd. There were other things in the shop of value.
“They helped themselves to everything they could and drove off.
“There was a bit of a police chase and they caught them on the A59.
“We’ve tried to clear up as much as we can so customers can still come in and shop.
“It’s a bit disappointing because we do a lot to support the local community.
“Our Manchester store got broken into a couple of years ago, so it’s not the first time this has happened.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Constabulary said: “We were called at 11.47pm yesterday (19th January) to Lanx Shoes, Mitton Road, Whalley, to a report of burglary.
“Our officers attended and it was found that a quantity of shoes had been stolen.
“A car was stopped on the A59 at Langho at 12.10am today following a pursuit and a 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of burglary.
“An 18-year-old man was arrested shortly afterwards in Brockhall Village on suspicion of burglary.
“Both are currently in custody.”
The Sun Online has reached out to Lanx Shoes for comment.
