Appeal as phone is stolen at tapas bar

CAUGHT on camera . . . CCTV footage of the theft

POLICE are appealing for information after a mobile phone was stolen from a coat pocket at a popular tapas restaurant.

CCTV footage, taken at around 5pm on March 1, shows two men entering Rioja in Uppermill before one of the men, who was wearing a baseball cap, sat down next to a coat stand while the other man, who was wearing a scarf, headed straight to the bar.

The man wearing the scarf distracted the young woman behind the bar while the other man reached back and began rummaging through the pocket of a tan coat with his left hand.

Stashes

With both eyes stuck on the bar, he plucks the phone from the coat and stashes it in his back pocket.

He then engages in conversation with his friend and the member of staff before both men leave.

A spokesman for GMP confirmed they were called to Rioja just before 6.40pm.

"We received reports that two men had entered the restaurant and one of them had gone up to the coat rack and removed property from the pocket while another distracted staff.

"The suspects then left in an unknown direction.

"Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111."