Freeze! Robber smashes his way into deli, gets away with a handful of ice blocks

A hot and bothered bicycle-riding robber blundered his way into a west Auckland cafe before making a cool escape with just two handfuls of gourmet ice blocks.

Demolition Deli manager Poonam Arora arrived to work at 7am to discover the Te Atatu cafe had been broken into at about 3.45am.

A staff member had called her as she was making her way in to let her know.

The cafe's CCTV footage shows the topless thief - who appears to be in his 20s - made nine or 10 attempts to smash the cafe's glass door before entering the building.

It takes about two minutes for him to break the door. At one point he does several spins before swinging an object - which appears to be a bin - at the door.

He then takes a quick break and hops on his bike before heading back for another attempt.

Once in, the alarm goes off and, wearing headphones, he goes straight to a nearby freezer - taking an estimated 9 or 10 Nice Blocks.

"He tried to break it (glass door) so many times - eight or nine times - and just grabbed some ice cream and ran away," Arora said.

"It's so weird, so weird."

It was the first time the cafe had been broken into because, Arora said, the only thing left in the premises was food. They did not leave cash onsite.

The cafe was operating as usual today.

A Police media spokesperson confirmed officers attended the break-in at a deli on Te Atatu Rd in the early hours of this morning after reports a man had allegedly smashed a window to gain entry to the property.

A 27-year-old man has since been arrested and faces multiple charges including burglary and wilful damage. He is due to appear in the Waitakere District Court today.