Shocking moment boy aged FIVE is used by two men to steal a phone in a charity shop

THIS is the moment a young boy stuffs a mobile phone down his trousers in an apparent robbery of a charity shop.

The boy – believed to be as young as five – can be seen ducking behind the counter of a Cancer Research shop, grabbing the phone before tucking it into his clothes.

MET POLICE

A boy, as young as five, can be seen grabbing a phone from a charity shop

MET POLICE

The boy is then patted on the head by the man he is with as he tucks the phone into his clothes

MET POLICE

The boy took the phone while one of the men distracted a sales assistant at the Wimbledon store

The child is then patted on the head by the man he was with at the charity store as they continue to shop.

Police are now searching for two men who were with the young boy, who could not have understood what he was doing.

The shocking footage was released by Metropolitan Police in an effort to catch the men suspected of being involved.

METROPOLITAN POLICE

One of the men was caught on CCTV while he used a young boy to steal a mobile phone from a charity shop

Police said the incident took place on Tuesday October 11, about 3.45pm at the Cancer Research shop on High Street, Wimbledon.

CCTV footage shows the two men trying on clothes and enlisting the little boy as a way to steal from the store.

Police said that one of the men was distracting a sales assistant when the other man walked to the till and got the child to take the phone.

The two men and boy then left the store with ladies’ clothing – which they did not make any attempt to pay for – and the charity shop worker’s mobile phone.

METROPOLITAN POLICE

A second man was caught on camera, with police now appealing for help tracking down the men

Police have now released images of the two suspects, as well as descriptions of the pair.

One man is described as a large white man in his early 30s with a brown beard, wearing a grey long sleeve top with a green logo on his left breast, grey cap, black shoulder bag, black shorts and black and white trainers.

The other is described as large white man in his late 20s wearing a dark blue t-shirt, dark blue peaked cap, dark red trousers, white socks and dark shoes.

The little boy had short brown hair, about five-years-old and wearing a dark coloured top with a green and white image on the front, red trousers and black and white trainers.

MET POLICE

The little boy can be seen ducking behind the counter to take a charity shop worker’s phone

MET POLICE

The little boy and the man then continue shopping after the theft

PC Sue Clarke, from Merton Borough said: “We are keen to identify the two men in the CCTV footage who appear to use the child in their care to steal from those working in a cancer research shop.

“We would also urge anyone who witnessed the incident to contact us.”

Anyone with information should contact police or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.