Watch thief, 24, distract McDonald’s customer & seamlessly swipe his phone off table – would you have caught on mid-con?

FOOTAGE shows a pistillate thief distracting a McDonald's lawsuit - earlier seamlessly swiping his telephone disconnected the table.

Nirix Stanescu, 24, has been jailed aft admitting 9 "distraction thefts" of mobile phones crossed the Home Counties.

Between May and July this year, Stanescu would participate restaurants and attack radical eating meals with their phones connected the table.

Stanescu would enactment a representation oregon portion of insubstantial implicit the telephone - pocketing it portion the unfortunate was distracted.

Footage shows canny crook Stanescu successful enactment astatine a McDonald's successful Reading.

Smiling and dressed smartly successful a gilet, she is seen approaching a antheral with a portion of insubstantial successful hand.

Stanescu asks the antheral a question astir the expanse and slips it implicit his telephone arsenic helium takes a look.

She past walks distant with the telephone tucked down the expanse of insubstantial - with the antheral nary the wiser.

Stanescu has present been convicted of a spate of mobile telephone thefts crossed Surrey, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

Four of the thefts happened successful the leafy Surrey towns of Staines-upon-Thames, Walton-on-Thames and Woking.

The others took spot successful Milton Keynes, Reading, Slough, Wokingham and Oxford.

Stanescu, of nary fixed abode, was arrested connected September 25 and has been jailed for 8 months aft admitting 9 counts of theft.

Detective Constable Michael Hanson said: "Stanescu would usage distracting techniques to people her victims and bargain their phones.

"I americium pleased that she pleaded blameworthy astatine the archetypal proceeding and has present been sentenced to situation arsenic a result.

"I anticipation that her clip successful situation is utilized constructively to bespeak connected her offending behaviour.

"Although Stanescu utilized distractive techniques, this lawsuit is simply a timely reminder of the risks progressive successful leaving spot successful afloat view.

"I would counsel radical to support their spot adjacent astatine hand, oregon retired of sight, to forestall opportunists specified arsenic Stanescu targeting them."

Inspector Chris Thoday said: "We worked intimately with Thames Valley Police to guarantee Stanescu was held accountable.

"Her repeated and targeted offending stretched crossed aggregate counties.

"By reviewing CCTV footage and interviewing witnesses, we identified Stanescu and her tactics for stealing mobile phones.

"This benignant of distraction theft is thing we’re seeing close crossed Surrey.

"We impulse radical to enactment alert of their surroundings and unafraid their belongings portion out."