Shopworker left 'flabbergasted' as customer steals his breakfast

A shop attendant in regional NSW said he was left "flabbergasted" after a customer stole his breakfast while he wasn't looking.

Matt McKay works at a Dubbo lighting store and told Today the brazen crime happened when he went to the storage room to check a stock item for the barefoot bandit.

"He came in and asked a pretty run-of-the-mill question about extension rods, so when I went and looked, I came back and told him which rods we had, for ceiling fans, he said 'it's all good' and left," Matt said.

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"And so I was a bit confused at that point, but obviously a few minutes later I realised what had happened."

While Matt was looking in the storage room, he had left the box with his breakfast croissant in it and his latte on the front counter.

CCTV footage from inside the store shows the customer look around before opening the box and helping himself to the delicious pastry.

"I was disappointed, I was ashamed, hungry, thirsty, flabbergasted - I think that's the best way to describe it all," he said.

"It didn't take me long to connect the dots, I just followed the breadcrumbs and there was no food in the box.

"I don't get very animated, so when I noticed, I sort of exhaled slowly and went back to the shop and got some more."

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However, on the bright side, Matt said he set up a crowdfunding page to recoup the $14 he spent on the original breakfast - and the community has already chipped in $24.

"I've actually had two lunches off the back of that, so this guy's done me a favour," he said.

"Obviously, I can see the funny side of it all now, but you know, there's still a lot of questions."

Check out the unbelievable CCTV in the video above