A 21-year-old Queenstown apprentice will appear in court tomorrow after attempting to crack open a safe in a Frankton tavern.
The man broke into the Frankton Arms Tavern early yesterday morning, coming down through the ceiling above the safe which contained around $20,000 in pokie machine takings.
But after an hour trying to break into the safe with an angle grinder and crow bar, he got a bit hot and removed his balaclava - revealing his face to the camera that had been recording his every move.
"It's something you see on TV like America's Most Stupid Criminals," says the manager of Frankton Arms Tavern, Dan Crawford. "It's just ridiculous."
Mr Crawford says he could not believe his luck when he discovered it was all caught on tape.
"To see some one breaking in and full on get out and angle grinder and then take his balaclava off and look right at the camera, it was one of those comedies of errors," he says.
To add insult to injury, bar staff say their would-be thief not only missed the security camera, but also the $600 in coins which was sitting on this shelf behind him.
The man is now the latest star of the Queenstown police Facebook page and police say the site has been an invaluable tool in tracking down local criminals.
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