London area."

He is wanted over the theft of a jacket, mobile phone and wallet from Mr Basrai's restaurant in Talbot Road, Blackpool, on 20 September.

He was later caught on CCTV carrying a case of beer at a shop in the town.

image copyright Getty Images image caption Could he BE any more innocent? Police said the real Schwimmer was not in the UK at the time of the offence

Responding to jokes posted on Blackpool police's Facebook post , Schwimmer responded with a video showing him furtively glancing at a camera as he walked through a convenience store clutching cans of beer.

"Officers, I swear it wasn't me," he said in an accompanying post.

Police had earlier confirmed Schwimmer was not in the UK at the time of the offence, but theoriginal post attracted 133,000 comments referencing Friends.

You may also like:

Schwimmer starred in Friends from 1994 until its finale in 2004.

It is not known whether the Emmy-nominated star has visited the Lancashire seaside resort.

Earlier this year, the announcement of his namesake as the new chief executive of the London Stock Exchange. saw Twitter flooded with Friends in-jokes and GIFs.