Robber Christopher Guther couldn't have made a bigger mess of holding up a bank if he tried.
After demanding money, he ran out with £4,200 - setting off two anti-theft cartridges, which covered him in bright red powder.
Hid in a toilet
He needed somewhere to hide - so quickly paid 20 pence to duck into an automatic toilet, but a taxi driver - and lots of other people - had seen the crimson criminal.
The police surrounded the loo, in central London, and the thief came out after a three-minute siege.
"He was completely red and was promptly arrested," said Mark Fenhalls, a lawyer dealing with the case.