Michael Adams is known to his friends as "Mr Stupid", while UK tabloid the Sun classifies him as "Britain's dumbest thief". And no wonder, since the bungling blagger lifted a laptop from a Manchester CCTV store while no less than eight cameras recorded the sorry scene for posterity.

After getting his collar felt at a bus stop following his somewhat-less-than-perfect crime, Adams admitted: "I was drinking and I've gone looking for something to rob."

For his trouble, Adams now has a community order to contend with and, doubtless, a ten-year sentence of smart comments and jibes from his loyal friends. ®