Exclusive: Dozy thief steals fake gun and fake money from Croydon theatre

EXCLUSIVE

by Dave Burke

STOLEN GUN: Actors from the production at the Warehouse Theatre

dave.burke@essnmedia.co.uk

A hapless thief who struck at a Croydon theatre on Tuesday will have had the surprise of his life when he surveyed his loot.

The opportunist sneaked into the Warehouse Theatre and snatched a handbag.

Inside was £100 and a gun - but the dozy thief will have been left feeling a dummy.

Because both the cash and the weapon were fakes - and were props to be used by a travelling theatre group in a play.

Actor Tony Harris, who plays a policeman in the production of The Barber of Savile Row which opened on Thursday, said: "When he opened the handbag the guy's jaw must have hit the floor.

"He will have thought he had a gun and £100.

"I think when they took it, they must have thought it was a handbag belonging to an actress."

The props were to be used by an actor playing a thief in the play.

"It's so bizarre," Mr Harris said.

"It's like life imitating art, the criminal's stuff has been nicked by a criminal."

Members of the Unexpected Opera Company are devastated by the loss, as the props were integral to the light-hearted play.

Stage manager Preece Killick said: "It's never happened before, so it threw us a little bit.

"It's left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths.

"The props are used in one of the most important moments of the play."

In the production, the handbag and gun are used by a male criminal on the run and pretending to be a nun.

It is thought the thief sneaked in through a back entrance to the Dingwall Road theatre while the group was unloading all its equipment sometime between 4.30pm and 6pm.

Mr Killick says that when police turned up to investigate, they were very worried about the gun going missing.

"Apparently a real gun had been thrown over a garden wall nearby, so I think they were trying to establish whether it was the same one," he said.

The stage gun is described as being similar to a Colt.45 World War Two weapon.

Tony said: "We're not saying the gun could cause any damage at all, but if it was poked in your face through a grille at a petrol station, it might make you panic."