Two men have been arrested after a bizarre burglary at a designer shoe store in Whalley, Lancashire, where only the right shoes of each pair were stolen. The suspects, aged 18 and 19, are in custody following the incident at Lanx Shoes on Mitton Road.
The 19-year-old was stopped after a police chase on the A59, while the 18-year-old was arrested soon after in Brockhall Village. A staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, said about 100 individual right-foot shoes were taken, leading to the nickname 'half-a-pair bandits' from owner Marco Vaghetti.
The staff member described the theft as 'odd,' noting that shoe shops typically display only one shoe per pair. 'They ran into the shop, didn't look at what they were taking and just bundled shoes into their arms and ran out,' they said. 'There were other things in the shop of value.'
Lancashire Constabulary confirmed they were called at 11.47pm on 19 January to reports of a burglary. Officers found a quantity of shoes had been stolen. The two men remain in custody on suspicion of burglary.
The store, which handcrafts men's and women's footwear, also has a branch in Manchester that was broken into a couple of years ago. 'It's a bit disappointing because we do a lot to support the local community,' the staff member added.
