A THIEF has been caught on camera stealing a heavyweight garden statue – of a video game character.

The bizarre theft of the Super Mario figure happened at Gourock man George Docherty’s home.

He said he was stunned when he realised that the two-stone figure – which sits on a wall next to his driveway in Ailsa Road – had been pinched.

After scouring his private CCTV camera footage, the 75-year-old hopes he has snared the culprit, who made off with the statue in a car.

George said: “I’ve had Mario for the past 20 years.

“It has been in the back garden but I recently got the driveway done so I put him out at the front on a small wall next to the drive.”

George said it was his son Stuart who spotted that Mario was missing.

He added: “Stuart noticed he was gone when he was reversing out of the driveway.

“People can’t keep their hands to themselves – I was annoyed.

“I checked back our CCTV which shows a young man who is aged from a teenager upwards getting out a car and picking it up before driving off at 10.40pm last Thursday night.”

George is now appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

He said: “Mario is quite unique.

“Anyone who has any information should phone the police.”

Sergeant Laura Stewart of Greenock police, said: “We are investigating the circumstances of the incident.”