Leeds catch ‘UK’s dumbest criminal’ as shirt thief goes on barely believable autograph hunt after stealing from shop

LEEDS UNITED caught the “UK’s dumbest criminal” after a brazen thief went on an autograph hunt after stealing from the club shop.

The barely believable incident occurred last Thursday after staff at the Elland Road store spotted a man behaving suspiciously.

PAThe ‘UK’s dumbest criminal’ was caught after stealing shirts from Leeds United’s store[/caption]

According to the Daily Mail, the concerns “proved to be accurate when he swiped a number of shirts and raced to a nearby car”.

One of the Leeds staff took down the vehicle’s registration and instantly phoned it in to the police.

Then, around 30 minutes later, “the motor triggered the automatic number plate recognition system close to the Premier League club’s Thorp Arch training base”.

That is located near to Wetherby.

The culprit appeared to have driven straight to the training ground.

And the report states they “presumably planned to hang around outside to ask players to sign them”.

West Yorkshire Police quickly swooped to arrest the male.

And now a 27-year-old has been charged with theft and is due to appear in court.

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The report added how “unofficial signed shirts are the scourge of many top-flight clubs”.

They claim that a number of clubs have now brought in security after some autograph hunters turned up at the homes of stars.