A masked intruder broke into an Għadira Bay lido on Monday evening but ended up with little more than an empty cash register drawer and a hand tattoo splashed all over Facebook. 

Owners of Mellieħa's Munchies lido have shared still images of the masked burglar walking across the lido premises and fiddling with the cash register. 

In the latter image, the man's distinctive tattoo can be clearly seen between his right-hand thumb and forefinger. Video shows the man yanking at the cash register drawer before taking it away. 

Photo: Munchies/Facebook

The attempted theft happened at around 9pm, explained director Ian Micallef. 

"The lido had been closed for an hour by that point and all our staff were upstairs working in the bistro," he explained. 

The masked would-be thief expertly forced an aluminium door open to make his way into the premises. 

"He was a professional, he knew exactly how to force his way in," Mr Micallef said. 

Having walked across the establishment to the cash register, the man grabbed the cash drawer and quickly made his escape, with video footage suggesting he had an accomplice waiting outside. 

"The whole thing lasted less than four minutes, it was extremely quick. Not that he made away with much - the drawer was empty," Mr Micallef told Times of Malta. 

A Facebook post including still images of the thief and his hand has been shared more than 450 times at the time of writing. 

Do you recognise the thief or have information about the incident? Contact the police.