A suspected burglar was arrested after thermal cameras quickly saw through his bungling attempt to camouflage himself as a solar panel.
The hapless suspect was quickly caught by a National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter’s thermal imaging camera lying completely still on a solar panel atop of a row of shops in Upper Tooting Road, Wandsworth on April 14.
NPAS tweeted an infra-red image of the bungled getaway attempt, adding: “Another burglary suspect located by us attempting to hide on a roof in @MPSWandsworth.
“** Friendly advice for any burglars that use Twitter ** Pretending to be solar panel on a roof will not fool us or our camera!!…, you’re welcome!”
Mocking the suspect, the social team added: “They’ll never find me if I just lay here and pretend I’m a solar panel! Wrong!!”
A NPAS spokeswoman said: “Our London helicopter crew was deployed at 0149hrs to assist Metropolitan Police officers in the search for a burglary suspect in the Upper Tooting Road area of London.
“The male suspect was quickly located on the roof of a building.
“His location was relayed to officers on the ground, who detained the suspect.”
“Total flying time was 13 minutes.”
It came as police in the West Midlands issued a warning after £100,000 worth of solar panels were reported stolen from solar farms.
Another training course started for our newbie. Sitting in the front seat. His first shift in the "hot seat" #London pic.twitter.com/sfI7zZ5KnK
— NPAS London (@NPASLondon) April 13, 2023
Follow @NPASLondon on Twitter for more pictures.
Scotland Yard has been approached for further comment.
