A surprising incident unfolded at a popular pub when a middle-aged woman was captured on CCTV stealing a prized monkey statue, prompting the landlady to appeal for its return.

Lesley Wood, who runs the Shoulder of Mutton pub in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, discovered the missing statue—a cherished decorative feature among several at the establishment—during her routine checks on Sunday morning.

Upon reviewing the CCTV footage, Ms. Wood was stunned to find that the ornamental monkey had been boldly taken by a female patron the previous evening.

In the video, the woman is seen hesitantly picking up the monkey statue, initially placing it back on the windowsill, seemingly reconsidering her actions.

Yet, after a brief pause, she gathers the nerve to snatch the resin figure, confidently departing the pub with it in her grasp.

The footage further reveals the woman outside, leaving the pub alongside her friends, with the stolen monkey in tow.

She then lights up a cigarette as the group walk off to carry on their night out elsewhere.  

Ms Wood told the Daily Mail: ‘The woman was with her partner and another middle aged couple who were in the pub for a couple of hours on Saturday. 

Softly, softly, catchee monkey: The moment a woman ‘brazenly’ swiped a monkey statue from inside the the Shoulder of Mutton pub in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, before walking out with the ornamental primate in hand  

Pictured: The female customer who took the statue (right) and her group of friends. Lesley Wood, the landlady at the pub, told the Daily Mail: ‘The woman was part a large group of middle aged people who were in the pub for a couple of hours on Saturday’

Pictured: The stolen monkey statue. Surprisingly, this is the second time the monkey has been stolen with Ms Wood revealing that the statues have been swiped multiple times already

‘I recognised them but they aren’t regulars and they don’t live nearby. She [the thief] walked out of the pub so brazenly with the monkey just in her hand that nobody even noticed she had it.’

‘It’s quite deflating when this happens because we like to make it as a welcoming place as possible and we don’t want things nailed down that’s not what Hebden is about and it’s depressing enough with all the pressure hospitality is under anyway.’

Surprisingly, this is the second time the monkey has been stolen with the landlady revealing that the statues have been swiped multiple times already.

‘This isn’t the first time he’s been taken so he’s just gone on another holiday! Last time he turned up on an outdoor table one morning after he was taken,’ she said.

Ms Wood reported the theft to the local police on Sunday but because the culprit was not local and it had taken place the evening before it was not pursued further. 

In an attempt to be reunited with the statue, the pub has posted an appeal on FaceBook with pictures of the group of punters in the hope they might come forward.

Ms Wood added that the woman must be ‘quite embarrassed’ but should she return the monkey there would be ‘no harm done’. 

She has been the landlady of the popular drinking spot for the past 11 years and Ms Wood claimed that the number of people stealing stuff from the pub has only increased in recent years.

Pictured: The woman leaving the pub with the monkey in hand. Ms Wood added that the woman must be ‘quite embarrassed’ but should she return the monkey there would be ‘no harm done’ 

‘You get use to glassware being taken but people are now taking other stuff from the pub. We had one woman with a big group of girls who stole a painting a few years ago,’ she said.

‘They thinks it’s a laugh and a lot of them are visiting from out of town and they just think it’s a bit of fun but a lot of the stuff in the pub is expensive and even from my own home.’

The monkey in Hebden Bridge is just latest decorative animal to be swiped from a pub in a drunken heist.

In March, the beloved badger mascot of a pub in Dorset was taken before it was returned with an apology. 

‘Mr Badger and Mrs Badger’ as they are known were gifted to The Oddfellows Arms in Wimborne, Dorset, by a customer in 1991.

For the past 35 years the couple have sat on the windowsill of the 18th century pub becoming local celebrities in the area.

But on March 27 a female customer was caught on CCTV smuggling Mr Badger out of the pub after drinks with her friends.

Earlier this month, the badger smuggler, who has not been named, called landlord Callum Brooks to apologise and arrange to bring the missing mascot back.

The woman sheepishly explained she tried to return it on Saturday morning, the day after she took it, but the pub was closed.

Mr Badger was finally returned on Good Friday with a new scarf and the woman had made a £100 donation to a badger charity.