Moment callous man steals charity box from Glasgow letting agent caught on CCTV

Police are investigating after a man took off with a charity box at a letting agent in Glasgow.

CCTV footage shared with Glasgow Live shows the moment a man walked into Property Zone on Cathcart Road in Govanhill and made off with the box.

Owner Tariq Shabbir attempted to chase after the thief, but was unsuccessful after a footrace down the street. He has since reported the incident to the police who say their enquiries are at an early stage.

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Tariq said: "It was 5.15pm and I was here myself. An elderly gentleman came in to talk about some commercial properties so we were just having a chat.

"I thought they were together because the other man walked in 10 seconds later and I noticed he left the door open. I then noticed he grabbed something and ran off.

"He was away with the money in the charity box and he was running much faster than I was so he was gone. I thought originally it might have been a lampshade, but my colleague the next day confirmed it was the box."

While Tariq wasn't sure how much money was in the box, he believed it would have been full of "pennies and pounds".

He added: "I don't know how much was in there, and the money was to raise funds for an eyesight charity for people in Pakistan.

"I was left feeling pretty disappointed. If the guy needed money, he could've just asked. I thought it would be good to share the footage on social media.

"Hopefully it will make others aware that it happened, to be vigilant and make sure other's don't get caught off guard. The guy was clearly waiting for an opportunity to come in and do this."

Tariq described the suspect as around 5ft 9inches, of Asian descent. He was wearing a hoodie, trainers and jeans at the time of the incident.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: "Around 2.30pm on Thursday, November 14, we received a report of a theft from a premises on Cathcart Road, Glasgow.

“Enquiries are at an early stage.”

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