Moment bakery bandit steals half of cake maker’s stock from her honesty box stall without leaving a penny
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A home baker who opened the honesty box for cakes had half her stock stolen by a bakery thug.
The pony-tailed hustler licked his lips as he emptied the Treat Street Bake Shed in Spalding, Lincolnshire, and calmly walked away without paying a penny.
Owner Sabina Seidel, 39, started the cake shack in March as a way to realize her dream of owning a bakery.
She bakes a variety of homemade treats and fills the shed outside her front door, relying on customers’ honesty to pay by cash register or online.
But a hidden camera inside the shed caught the thief on May 9 as he piled 25 baked goods, worth around £80, into a plastic bag and then walked away.
The man opened the door of the shed, covering his mouth with his red T-shirt to hide his identity. He then slowly played various pastries while licking his lips.
After filling the plastic bag completely, the thief tried to open the safe before walking away.
Seeing the man filming the treats, Sabina initially thought he was a supportive customer and ran out to thank him before realizing what had happened.
Ponytailed bakery thug licked his lips as he emptied the Treat Street Bake Shed in Spalding, Lincolnshire, without paying a penny
The thief even tried to open the safe before calmly walking away with a bag full of stolen treats.
Owner Sabina Seidel, 39, initially thought the man was a supportive customer but footage shows the moment she realized he had stolen half her shares
He said: ‘I went out and thanked him, I thought he had paid cash when he left and he said ‘it’s nothing’.’
‘However, because he left the door of the hut open at that time, the penny with which he took the baked goods fell out.
‘I assumed he had paid with cash and I checked the safe and he had not put any money in there.’
Sabina later reported the theft to Lincolnshire police.
The community responded to the bakery bandit’s theft by buying more treats from a customer, even offering compensation.
‘We sold out quickly that day as people came to support me.
‘People have been so supportive we have repeat customers and customers who come at the same time every week.
‘After hearing what happened yesterday, someone came to deposit money but I didn’t take it.’
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Should we trust people with integrity systems or are we just inviting theft and disappointment?
Sabina opened her bakery shed in March this year to realize her dream of owning a bakery.
After the theft, the community came out to support his business and the rest of his goods were sold the same day
In a video shared on social media, Sabina’s reaction to the theft was to bake even more than before.
She spent her evening cooking, restocking the hut on Sunday.
Treat Street Bake Shed uses an honesty system with a QR code for card payments and a till for cash and is open Monday to Friday.
Sabina prices the goods at the kiosk and ‘customers count how much they bought, scan the QR and pay.’
She opened the cake shack because she ‘always wanted a cake and coffee shop’ but didn’t have time to open a bakery.
Lincolnshire Police told the BBC it was investigating a report of cakes and cookies being stolen from a stall in Spalding between 7.25pm and 8pm on Saturday.
A spokesman said no arrests had been made.
The Daily Mail has also contacted police for comment.
