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.

Guther's every move was recorded, as the street had more surveillance cameras on it than anywhere else in London.