Bizarre footage captured the moment a man allegedly stole a crane before driving it near a town hall.
The video, taken at around 2am on Wednesday, showed police vehicles at the scene outside Chadderton Town Hall in Oldham.
The clip shows a red cherry picker moving along Middleton Road with its arm raised to its full height with two people standing on the platform in pouring rain.
After appearing to dominate the city hall building, the driver moves the platform so that it is directly above the road.
Bizarre footage captured moment man ‘robbed’ cherry picker in Oldham, Greater Manchester
The red construction vehicle was driven in front of Chadderton Town Hall.
There were two people on the platform above the roof of the building.
Police closed the road around the scene and arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of robbery and assaulting an emergency worker.
Viewers are heard saying that the driver “must be sniffed out or something”, comparing the robbery to a “five-star GTA deal”.
Other witnesses commented that the scene was “comedy gold” and “absolute madness.”
The thief, labeled an “absolute muppet,” had allegedly told officers at the scene to “fuck off.”
Police were initially called to the incident which began on Russell Street and closed the road.
An officer was seen approaching people filming the incident and warning them not to post it online, to which they responded: “This man is comedy gold.”
A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of stealing a vehicle and assaulting an emergency worker, the Oldham Times reported.
