Police want to question a man caught on camera trying to swipe cash from a shop till just seconds before chatting with oblivious staff.

CCTV footage shows the brazen thief loitering in Butterfly Boutique in Faversham before making a beeline for the till.

But just as he manages to open the till, he is disturbed and flees for the door, only to turn back and pretend he has just come in.

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Amazingly, a video clip obtained by KentOnline then shows him chatting to a shop assistant who is completely unaware of what has happened just seconds before.

The shop was closed when the man struck between 3pm and 4pm on Monday, September, 21.

Jackie Shepherd, who has owned the shop for five years, said: "The man was seen outside a couple of times walking up to the shop and looking through the window.

"When Jackie, who was working in the shop at the time, went out of the room, the CCTV shows him coming in really slowly, closing the door behind him gently and walking over to the till.

“He was obviously disturbed by the sounds of Jackie coming back into the room and went out again.

“It really frightened her and she had her hand on her chest as she watched the CCTV.

"It was unnerving.”

Police are investigating and have released CCTV images of the man and appealed for anyone with information about him to come forward.

Investigating officer Emma Wilson said: “Enquiries are ongoing and I would encourage anyone who recognises the man in the image or who has information about the incident to contact police.”

Mrs Shepherd has now warned fellow traders to remain vigilant.

She said: “This sort of incident doesn’t happen very often in Faversham but we do need to stay vigilant and all shops should install CCTV so if something like this happens again we can track down whoever is responsible."

Oliver Sebastien, the manager of Goodness Gracious, another independent shop, had shared the CCTV images on Facebook to warn other shopkeepers.

He said: “We need to remain vigilant as a community to stomp out this criminal behaviour targeting local businesses.

“If you haven’t got CCTV, I would recommend getting a small set-up.”

Witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact PC Emma Willson on 01795 419119 and quoting crime reference XY/33035/15.