A COFFEE-craving crook might reckon he is quids in after snatching a cafe’s loyalty stamp.

Independent chain Small Batch Coffee’s stamp was opportunistically swiped from its Goldstone Villas branch last week.

The loyalty card gives coffee connoisseurs a free cup for every nine they pay for.

But the culprit might have blundered as the stamp was the only one with red ink in the whole company – making it glaringly obvious if they keep coming back.

An assistant manager at the Hove branch said: “It’s a red one, so we will know if someone comes in with a fully stamped red card then they’ve might have got hold of it illegally.”

The barista was not convinced the thief was a connoisseur, adding: “My mate stole a Nero stamp back in the day, so I don’t think it’s about the quality of the taste, it’s just someone wanting a free coffee.”

It is not the first time Small Batch has fallen victim to people trying to grind out free cups of Joe, after a similar incident 18 months ago.

Nick Barlow, who is in charge of creativity and media for Small Batch, said: “This is the second time that we’ve had a loyalty stamp stolen.

"Last time we had to take the drastic action of changing the graphic on our stamps across the whole company.

"But this time it shouldn’t be necessary as the stamp which was taken is the only one with red ink.

“Quite a discerning thief I suppose, robbing a stamp from a speciality coffee company rather than one of the big high street chains - but thoroughly disappointing nonetheless.

“Thankfully our customers are generally lovely and honest and tend to see the funny side.”