Man tries to steal seven giant hams, couldn't possibly make a worse job of it

A thief in southern Spain made such a pig's ear of a burglary this week that police were able to follow a trail from the scene of the crime to his front door.

The hapless thief stole seven legs of Iberico ham from a bar in Sanlucar de Barrameda near Cadiz.

Evidently struggling to carry the loot, the thief let one of the legs of ham scrape along the floor and when police arrived at the crime scene, the bar owner was able to show them the fatty trail the thief had left behind.

Officers followed the trail to the burglar's flat and, when they searched the building, found two legs of ham and about €500 (£394) in cash, which the bar owner said was missing from the cash register.

Domingo Infante, the bar owner, told The Local:

It's like something out of a silly film. There were traces of fat everywhere, on the pavement outside the property, the stairs and even the front door.

The police suspect that the other five legs of ham had been passed on to accomplices.

The thief is due to be charged but has not yet been named, possibly to save him from further embarrassment...

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