A thief who stole cooking oil from an East Lancashire pub got the punishment they deserved after tripping over and getting covered in it.
The Craven Heifer Inn in Barnoldswick shared the hilarious CCTV footage of the thief’s trip and said it was “instant karma”.
Manager, Gemma O’Sullivan, said barrels of used cooking oil are often stolen from the business.
Thieves will then often sell on the oil or use it to make biofuels for use in diesel vehicles.
She said: “Thieves often steal old oil that we leave out overnight, as you can’t keep it inside the premises.
“A company will then come and collect it when they drop off the new oil.
“It is a reoccurring thing that can happen to us at least once a month.
“They have no shame and will just come and take it whether staff are here or not.”
The Craven Heifer team were aware the oil had been taken on Wednesday morning (November 2) but didn’t immediately check CCTV or call the police as it happens so often.
A dog walker noticed a large oil spill on the car park and the pub hired a professional cleaner to mop up the mess for £200, thinking nothing of the large oil spill.
Gemma said: “We received a call from The Punch Bowl in Earby who asked if we knew what time the oil was stolen as theirs had been taken too.
“That’s when we looked at the CCTV and saw the fall. We found it so funny.”
In the video a person in a hi-vis jacket can be seen dragging barrels of oil to a white van, while another loads them into the vehicle.
Towards the end of the video the person dragging the barrels trips over the barrel and tumbles to the floor, getting covered in oil in the process.
Gemma said: “We were in hysterics and found it absolutely hilarious. Talk about instant karma.
“It’s not something we would usually share when it has been stolen previously but this was just too funny and a proper ‘You’ve Been Framed’ moment.”
Since posting it to their Facebook page, the video has been shared dozens of times and received hundreds of interactions.
Gemma said: “We have been very surprised by the reaction it has received. I think most people see the funny side of it.
“It’s also given us a nice social media boost."
One commenter said: “Serves him right.”
Another said: “Karma is a dish best served cold.”
A third commenter said: “I hope he gets called ‘Olive’ by his mates from now on.”
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