A hapless Midlothian crook was caught stealing a pair of old trainers from a doorstep of a flat in Dalkeith.
Resident Richard Kinnear wants local people to ensure their property is locked up securely, following the strange incident which happened shortly before 6am this morning.
Footage, captured through a doorbell camera, shows an individual approaching his property at St Andrew Street before helping themselves to a pair of trainers left outside his front door.
Richard, 35, told Edinburgh Live that the grey Adidas trainers were actually for the bin, and had a hole in them, but fears the crook could quite easily get their hands on some valuables if people don't carefully lock up their property.
He said: "This is the first time anything like this has happened. The camera is linked up to our phones, so we got the notification through this morning that somebody had been at the front door.
"To be honest the trainers won't be missed. They are due for the bin anyway – one actually has a hole in it.
"It's more the issue that there's somebody going around stealing stuff I want to make people aware of. I mean, how low can you get?
"There are a lot of elderly people in the area, and I want to make them aware this is happening."
Richard lives on the third floor of a flat, although says you can see the front door of his property from an outside window.
He says the person may have seen a cover over a locked-up bike, and been attracted inside as a result. They've then opportunistically helped themselves to the shoes after spotting them on the doorstep.
Police have since been alerted to the incident, which happened at around 5.55am.
Officers say they are investigating reports of somebody "acting suspiciously" outside the property, but say further enquiries still have to be carried out.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: "Police received a report of someone acting suspiciously outside a property in St Andrew Street, Dalkeith around 5.55 am today, Thursday, 8 April 2021 however further enquiries have still to be carried out to establish the exact circumstances of the incident."
