An east London pub that was burgled at the weekend has turned the crime into a clever advertisement.
The Artillery Arms near Old Street was broken into early on Sunday morning by someone who smashed a pane of glass on the front door before forcing it open.
Manager Tony Bennett, who lives upstairs, was woken up by the venue’s burglar alarm but by the time he got to the ground floor the culprit had fled.
To explain the police tape and broken glass outside to customers, Mr Bennett put a sign outside, saying: “This pub is so good that someone tried to get in 8 hours before we open!”
The sign has been shared hundreds of times online after he put the image on Facebook.
Mr Bennett told the Standard he had been helped by an Uber driver who spotted the thief acting suspiciously and drove the wrong way up the road to scare him off.
He said: “They basically didn’t have time to steal anything. They were spooked between the cab coming and the lights coming on.
“All I know is the cab driver’s name was Chris. I hope he pops in for a pint at some stage.”
The pub manager even served a “break-in special” of roast lamb followed by cheesecake to punters on Sunday afternoon, but had to cancel plans to run a half-marathon in Reading that day.
He said: “The customers showed enough concern to start with. When they realised no one was hurt and nothing was taken they were taking the mick a bit.
“They were saying I did it to get out of the marathon.”
The Met Police have confirmed they were called to reports of a break-in at the pub at around 4am on Sunday.
Anyone with information can call the non-emergency line on 101.
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