In a truly peculiar criminal incident that has left both police and retail staff baffled, two young men have been apprehended following a raid on a designer footwear store in Lancashire. The burglars made off with hundreds of shoes, but in a strange twist, they only stole right-footed items, leaving the shop with an abundance of lonely left shoes.
Arrests Made Following Police Pursuit
The men, aged 18 and 19, are currently being held in police custody after the break-in at Lanx Shoes on Mitton Road in Whalley. Lancashire Constabulary reported receiving the call at 11.47pm on Monday, January 19, with officers attending to find a significant quantity of shoes had been stolen.
A 19-year-old suspect was stopped following a police chase on the A59 at Langho at 12.10am today, while an 18-year-old man was arrested shortly afterwards in the nearby Brockhall Village. Both individuals have been detained on suspicion of burglary as investigations continue.
The Bizarre Nature of the Theft
What makes this burglary particularly unusual is the specific nature of the stolen goods. According to a staff member who preferred to remain anonymous, the thieves made off with approximately 100 individual shoes — all of them right-footed.
'They're not pairs, they're all the right foot of a pair,' the staff member explained. 'About 100 shoes, so Marco has nicknamed them the "half-a-pair bandits".'
The perplexed employee noted that in shoe retail, shops typically display single shoes rather than complete pairs, which may explain how the burglars ended up with such an imbalanced haul. 'It's so odd because in shoe shops, you never display a full pair of shoes. They ran into the shop, didn't look at what they were taking and just bundled shoes into their arms and ran out.'
Store Damage and Recovery Efforts
CCTV footage captured the moment the burglars smashed their way into the premises, with video from the morning after showing significant damage to the shop entrance and shattered glass scattered across the ground. The door had been forcibly broken during the illegal entry.
Despite the disruption and damage, the staff member expressed determination to continue business as usual. 'We've tried to clear up as much as we can so customers can still come in and shop,' they stated, while acknowledging the disappointment of the situation given the store's community involvement.
The employee revealed this wasn't the first time the business had been targeted, noting that their Manchester store on Oak Street had experienced a break-in a couple of years previously. Lanx Shoes was founded by Marco Vaghetti in 2017 and maintains its Lancashire base alongside the Manchester location.
Police Investigation Continues
Lancashire Constabulary confirmed the basic details of the incident and subsequent arrests, with both suspects remaining in custody for questioning. The investigation will likely examine the unusual choice of stolen goods and whether there was any specific motive behind targeting right-footed shoes exclusively.
For now, Lanx Shoes faces the unusual challenge of operating with hundreds of left shoes without their matching counterparts, while police work to establish the full circumstances behind this remarkably odd burglary.
