The Sun Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

People steal iPhones.

It's just a symptom of our times. We just can't get enough entertainment, you see.

So here is some footage, courtesy of the Sun and a store's surveillance camera, that appears to show how heartlessly some humans can be in their quest for a free smartphone.

The baby is 20-month-old Luella Reid.

Her mom, Danielle Hinngian, reportedly gave her the iPhone so that she could watch "Barney The Dinosaur" while mom shopped in Ormskirk, northern England.

What the footage appears to show is an older man sidling up to Luella's pushchair. He quickly looks around before taking Barney and the iPhone for himself.

Hinnigan told the Sun: "He's followed me into that shop; to think he has targeted my daughter is disgusting. Everyone is absolutely disgusted. Her dad was really angry and upset."

Local Police Inspector Andy Willis exasperatedly told the paper: "This is a despicable offense where it appears that the suspect has deliberately targeted a child knowing the crime would be relatively easy to commit."

iPhone pilfering has become something of a world scourge. iPhone and iPad thefts are up 40 percent in New York, for example.

Yet this footage appears especially painful when you consider that the target is a tiny child.

There will be many who hope that this gentleman (who may have had a female accomplice) is caught and made to sit and watch "Barney the Dinosaur" in a darkened room for a very long time.