'Cheshire Cat burglar' police e-fit mocked Published duration 3 April 2018

image copyright Warwickshire Police/Getty image caption The e-fit has raised smiles online because of its exaggerated mouth, with many comparing it to the Cheshire Cat

A police force's e-fit of a burglary suspect has been mocked for its resemblance to the Cheshire Cat.

Warwickshire Police published the mock-up of the toothy fugitive on Twitter, but his super-sized grin attracted more hilarity than help.

It drew a wave of comparisons to wide-mouthed cartoon characters including Zippy, from 80s kids' TV favourite Rainbow, and Batman villain the Joker.

The force said it had "anticipated the reaction" to the image.

'Easy to spot'

It posted its appeal in a bid to trace a man wanted in connection with a distraction burglary in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The accompanying image showed a suspect sporting a black beanie hat, five o'clock shadow and an impressive set of teeth which saw one user dub him Mr Gnashers.

Internet wags were chomping at the bit to reply to the post, which has been retweeted more than 1,000 times.

Some likened it to the Cheshire Cat, which famously appeared in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, while others were reminded of psychedelic 1960s cartoon rockers the Banana Splits.

User Andy Martindale said: "Was it his mile wide grin that distracted people?"

Liz Sutton asked: "Is that a late April Fool?"

And John O'Sullivan said: "It should be easy to spot him."

The incident happened in Stratford-upon-Avon between 14:00 and 14:36 GMT on 5 February.

Police said two men claiming to be from Orbit Housing tricked their way into a flat in Hertford Place, with one distracting the occupant - a woman in her 40s - while the other searched the property.

They left with a quantity of cash.

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Warwickshire Police confirmed the e-fit was real and had been created based on a description provided by the victim.

The force said it hoped the extra attention would help catch the criminal faster.