A Brighton ice cream parlour owner has taken to social media after thousands of pounds were stolen from his store.

Jon Adams used Facebook to circulate CCTV images of a man he is searching for in connection to the theft of about £5,500 from Gelato Gusto in Gardner Street, Brighton.

The theft happened on Monday as Mr Adams was cashing up in the artisan ice cream shop.

He said: “A member of my staff was upstairs having lunch and I was only going to be a minute extracting something from the ice cream machine.

“The kitchen is in full view from the bottom of the stairs and I did not think I would be long, but obviously in hindsight I wish I had put the money back in the safe.

“When I ran back I saw the bag was gone.

“The bag was not clearly on display. There were laptops and others things.”

Mr Adams scoured his CCTV footage and managed to find some images which he handed to the police, but was told the man caught on camera was not recognised by them and was likely not to be local.

Unperturbed, the shop owner decided to use social media to see if he could track down a man captured on CCTV.

His post has been shared more than 300 times on Facebook and he has received dozens of messages of support.

He said: “I think the Facebook response has been brilliant and I really appreciate everyone sharing etc.

“I just thought I have to try something and I may as well do it myself.

“The images are quite clear and a distinctive shot of what he was wearing.

“The response is really positive – it is nice to know we have good support.

”I was feeling quite devastated and sick with myself.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Police having examined the CCTV footage and are looking for a man described as white, about 6ft 2in, of stocky build, with short gelled dark hair and wearing a white T-shirt with the word ‘money’ written across it in black writing, a white hooded top, blue jeans and white trainers.”

Anyone who recognises the man should call Sussex Police on 101.