Late at night, crimes are meant to be quiet and calculated.
This one was neither.
At around 11 p.m. on January 19, two young men broke into a well known shoe store in Manchester, and accidentally created one of the most ridiculous theft stories in recent years.
They escaped with nearly one hundred shoes.
Every single one was for the right foot only. 
A Rushed Break In Under the Cover of Darkness
The incident occurred in the Wythenshawe area, a residential district in southern Manchester.
The target was Lanx Shoes, a popular local brand with a strong following among young customers.
Using the darkness as cover, the two men smashed the glass entrance and forced their way inside.
The alarm sounded immediately.
Panic set in fast.
Instead of checking what they were taking, the thieves grabbed shoes from nearby shelves and stuffed them into their arms.
They ran back to their vehicle and sped away within moments.
What they completely overlooked was a basic retail fact.
Why Shoe Stores Display Only One Shoe
In most footwear stores, only one shoe from each pair is displayed.
This approach saves space and improves visual presentation.
Retailers usually choose the right shoe for display.
The left shoe stays in storage until a customer makes a purchase.
Because of this standard practice, every shoe the thieves grabbed was a right shoe.
None of them could be matched into a usable pair.
A store employee later described the scene with disbelief.
They said the men rushed in, grabbed blindly in the dark, and ran without checking what they had taken.
A Fast Arrest and an Embarrassing Discovery
Police responded immediately after the alarm was triggered.
Within twenty three minutes, officers stopped the suspects’ vehicle on a nearby road.
A nineteen year old man was arrested on the spot.
His eighteen year old accomplice was caught shortly afterward in the nearby village of Brockhall.
When officers opened the car, the mistake became obvious.
The vehicle was packed with branded right shoes.
There was not a single left shoe in sight.
Even experienced officers were reportedly confused by what they saw.
A Popular Store Targeted Once Again
Lanx Shoes is well known in the local Manchester area.
The store regularly stocks limited editions, collaborations, and newly released sneakers.
Ironically, far more valuable items were left behind.
Exclusive clothing, accessories, and collectibles were untouched.
Instead, the thieves chose the one category of goods that is nearly impossible to resell.
Single shoes without pairs have almost no value on the market.
Staff later confirmed that roughly one hundred shoes were stolen.
Every one of them was for the right foot.
The Birth of the Nickname Half Shoe Bandits
The absurdity of the crime quickly amused store employees.
Someone jokingly gave the thieves a nickname that stuck.
They were called the Half Shoe Bandits.
Employees laughed that with nearly one hundred unusable shoes, the name felt appropriate.
The nickname spread rapidly on social media.
Online users mocked the thieves for their lack of basic knowledge.
Even police officers reportedly shook their heads during the investigation.
Not the First Break In for the Store
Unfortunately, this was not the first time the store had been targeted.
Employees revealed that the Manchester location had been robbed several years earlier.
Despite the damage, staff cleaned the store quickly.
Business resumed as usual shortly afterward.
The stolen shoes were placed into police custody as evidence.
They will remain there until legal proceedings are complete.
Only then will the right shoes finally return to the store.
Similar Right Shoe Thefts Around the World
As strange as this case may sound, it is not unique.
In 2023, three thieves broke into a store in Huancayo, a city in central Peru.
They stole more than two hundred athletic shoes.
Once again, every shoe was for the right foot.
The estimated loss exceeded thirteen thousand US dollars.
Reselling the shoes proved nearly impossible.
The criminals caused damage but gained little in return.
More Bizarre Cases in the United States and Australia
In October 2024, a similar incident occurred in Cincinnati, a city in Ohio.
Three thieves stole more than one hundred right shoes from a local store.
The store manager later described the theft as absurd.
They explained that single shoes without boxes cannot be sold under normal retail conditions.
In July 2025, another case surfaced in Brisbane, Australia.
At the Kenmore shopping center, fifty three right shoes were reported missing.
The potential loss was estimated at seven thousand dollars.
After the story went viral online for a week, fifty one shoes mysteriously returned to the store.
The man responsible was later arrested.
He reportedly looked confused and claimed he did not realize he had stolen only right shoes.
A Lot of Risk for a Pile of Useless Goods
Breaking into stores requires planning, effort, and risk.
Doing all that for unusable merchandise makes the outcome almost comedic.
In the end, these thieves worked hard to steal what was essentially a pile of defective goods.
Their lack of preparation turned a crime into an international joke.
Sometimes, the biggest mistake is not getting caught.
It is not knowing what you are stealing.
