PHUKET: Police and the management of a Patong hotel are hoping that security camera footage will quickly lead to the arrest of a brazen two-minute thief who struck early today.

The man monitored the resort and when the night staffer at the Cello Hotel in Nanai Road in Patong went to the toilet at 5.06am, he walked in to the lobby.

Security camera footage clearly shows the thief at work. He escaped with the staffer's handbag and a walkie-talkie.

The Cello general manager, Joni Soila, believes the thief may have seen his own image on the resort monitors and fled. ''He was there for just a minute or so and left.

''During this time he stoled our front desk officer's handbag, including some money and all her id cards etc and took one walkie talkie as well.

''We'd be interested to know where he is going to use this as it works in our own system.

''We have 16 CCTV cameras and when this guy went behind the front desk he must have seen the monitors. He came out scared because he saw his own face, so he decided it was time to leave.

''Police in Kathu said that this guy is wanted for the same kind of robbery, but in other cases he also went to the hotel rooms. I guess our security camera system stopped him.''

Cello has made a priority of security and believes other hotels should do the same. The 30-key resort is Scandinavian-run.

A 25,000 baht reward is being offered for the arrest of the thief.