This is the embarrassing moment a bungling thief apparently attempts to steal a mobile phone from a shop owner but he fails to realise that it is plugged in and charging.

The incident took place at a clothes store on Tuesday 4th January in the city of Anshan, which is located in Liaoning province, which is in north-eastern China, bordering North Korea.

The footage shows the man, who has not been named, standing behind the shop owner and surreptitiously picking up the mobile phone while she is focused on handling some goods and at first he appears to get away with his attempt to steal it.

But as he tries to remove the phone further from the table, it tugs on a charging cable that is connected to it.

The charging table then seems to upset some items that are on the table and this, in turn, alerts the shop owner to the attempted theft.

She has not been named either and can be seen sitting on the floor and handling some goods. At the noise, she simply turns around and looks at the amateur thief as the bungling crook, apparently embarrassed, quickly pretends to be looking at the back of the phone as the footage ends.

It is currently unclear what happened after that, and if the shop owner called the police.

It is also currently unclear if the would-be thief has been arrested and if the police are investigating the incident. The make and model of the phone have not been disclosed.