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Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 09:16
The intruder took a great deal of trouble to reach his target after breaking into the Hele Cross Service Station shop in Hele Road on Sunday.
The offender's first armed himself with a means of entry and disguised himself heavily during the raid by stealing a works jacket, gloves and breeze block from M&S Cladding next door.
He then donned the jacket to cover his working clothes, slipped on the gloves and lugged the block over to the scene of the raid.
The block was used to break the window, allowing him to step inside and help himself to the lottery machine, avoiding the stock.
But his prize was too heavy and the intruder dumped his hefty haul nearby.
Bemused service station owner James Prescott said: "I don't know what he or she was thinking. There's no way of telling who it was because of the disguise.
"They must have thought the machine could print off lottery tickets. It doesn't work like that.
"We were impressed that everything was fixed and replaced so quickly. Roman Glass were here within an hour to replace the window which will probably cost us about £300.
"And the lottery people replaced the machine within 24 hours.
He added: "I can't understand the mentality of people who do this stealing. It's beyond me.
"I suppose the thief thought he could get a winning ticket. It would have been funny if he had managed to get it all the way home and found it was out of ticket paper."
Steve Masden, of M&S Cladding, said: "I don't think he was the most competent thief in the world."
