A trio of masked schoolboy ‘gangsters’ were caught on video brazenly swiping treats from an honesty box cake shed – before being shamed into returning and paying for the goods.
Despairing owner Emma Burton says bystanders spotted the teenagers entering her shop, The Capel Cake Shed in Capel-le-Ferne, Kent, on Sunday afternoon.
After checking her Ring Doorbell camera, the 46-year-old was horrified to see one youth wearing a t-shirt fashioned into a balaclava appearing to help himself to the sweet treats.
An older boy, also wearing a t-shirt mask, can be heard ordering his companion to ‘get loads of s**t’ from the shop before running off with their loot.
Emma, who works as an ice-cream seller, believes the culprits were aged around 13 or 14, and reported the incident to Kent Police.
She shared the Ring Doorbell footage on Facebook in a bid to help her identify the boys and deter them from returning.
Since sharing the footage, she claims two of the youths returned and paid £10 each into the honesty box.
Emma, from Capel-le-Ferne in Folkestone, Kent, said it was ‘not the first time’ such an incident had occurred.
A trio of masked schoolboy ‘gangsters’ were caught on video brazenly swiping treats from an honesty box cake shed in Capel-le-Ferne, Kent
A youth wearing a t-shirt fashioned into a balaclava was seen on camera helping himself to the sweet treats
The group were seen fleeing from the store, having taken 11 items worth £27.50
‘It happened at 4.40pm on Sunday. I was at my other job and I got a message from someone saying they had just seen three kids running from my cake shed with balaclavas on.
‘I looked at my Ring Doorbell and it showed that they had wrapped their t-shirts around their head but they did look like balaclavas.
‘I put the video up on Facebook as I thought someone would know who they were.
‘It makes me really sad. Everything is priced at £2.50 and there’s a cash box and a QR code with my bank details [to pay for the cakes]. Everything is done in honesty.
‘They almost look like gangsters in their balaclavas. I hate to think what they’re going to be like in five years, it’s worrying.
‘I’ve got kids as well and I’d be mortified if they were mine.’
Emma said 11 items worth £27.50 were taken.
Later that evening, while out on a dog walk with her husband, she claims they spotted the three teenagers in the park and confronted them, but claims the unrepentant trio swore at her husband.
Emma said: ‘It’s horrible. It makes me feel like, “why do I bother?” as this isn’t the first time this has happened.
‘But the good does outweigh the bad as 99 per cent of people pay and everyone seems to love it.
‘We actually found them when I took the dog for a walk in the park with my husband.
‘My husband went up to them and said, “I know you”, and they replied “no you don’t”.
‘He then said “you’re on my CCTV”, and the kids went “f*** off, I’ll rob it again”.’
Owner Emma Burton shared the footage on Facebook and told Kent Police about the incident
Emma set up her cake shed in December last year as a hobby, but now bakes for up to seven hours a day to keep the shelves full.
The Ring Doorbell footage racked up more than 36,000 likes. Since sharing the footage, two of the three boys returned to the cake shed and paid for the taken items.
A Kent Police spokesman said: ‘It was reported to Kent Police at 7.40pm on Sunday, 16 August that premises in Capel le Ferne had been targeted earlier in the afternoon and cakes had been stolen.’
Anyone with information should contact Kent Police on 01843 222289, quoting 16-1534.
