You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a scene straight out of a comedy caper, but the reality was anything but funny.
CCTV footage captured two thieves pulling off a bizarre and bold burglary in Nottingham—armed not with weapons, but with wheelie bins.
And they didn’t just walk away with small items—they stole £3,000 worth of trainers from a Foot Locker store in broad daylight.
Disguised as Staff and Dressed to Steal
Meet Reece Wheat, 28, the mastermind behind the crime—or at least the one in costume.
Wheat had the audacity to dress up like a legitimate Foot Locker employee, wearing the company’s trademark black-and-white striped uniform.
Blending in with staff, he managed to make off with thousands of pounds worth of sneakers.
But he wasn’t working alone. His partner-in-crime, Ellis Bishop, 30, played a crucial role too.
Together, the two men broke into the store on Nottingham’s busy Clumber Street on May 13.
They grabbed what they could, then calmly loaded it all into two wheelie bins stolen from a nearby bar.
CCTV Footage Captures the Shameless Escape
Security cameras captured every detail.
The footage shows the pair wheeling their loot down the street, totally unfazed, in broad daylight.
Bishop, dressed in a hoodie, was also seen helping Wheat break into the store and transferring the goods into the bins like they were taking out the trash.
The boldness of the crime didn’t end there.
Later that same day, police spotted Wheat near the very store he had robbed—casually wearing some of the stolen Nike gear.
He was arrested on the spot.
More Than Just Trainers
Turns out, Wheat had been on a bit of a crime spree.
Aside from the Foot Locker break-in, he had also stolen from a bike shed on Station Street and shoplifted about £30 worth of laundry capsules from a local Savers shop.
Bishop, meanwhile, had his own record of retail theft.
He was tied to three separate shoplifting incidents in Nottingham’s city centre on May 27, June 15, and June 20.
Justice Served in Court
Both men faced the music at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court.
Wheat received a nine-month jail sentence.
Bishop, who pleaded guilty to burglary and four counts of theft (including stealing the actual bins), was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison.
Tattoos and Trainers Gave Him Away
Police said Bishop initially avoided detection because he left no forensic trace at the crime scene.
But PC Ben King from Nottinghamshire Police’s city centre neighbourhood team said investigators didn’t give up.
They pored over footage and noticed two crucial clues: Bishop’s distinctive tattoos and—you guessed it—the very same trainers he helped steal.
That was enough to confirm his identity and role in the crime.
A Costly Crime for Local Businesses
“This wasn’t just a theft, it was a spectacle,” PC King explained.
“Thousands of pounds in stock were stolen, then paraded through Nottingham city centre in bins.
It’s the kind of thing that really affects local retailers, both financially and emotionally.”
He added: “We’re pleased to have both offenders behind bars.
Crimes like this might seem comical on the surface, but they have serious impacts.”
