A 24-year-old man has been arrested in Amsterdam after trying to steal the contents of a charity collection box from a police station waiting room.

The man was alone in the waiting room in Amsterdam Zuid police station at around 04.00 on Thursday morning. He then tried to break open the box, which had been put there to collect money for the animal ambulance service.

Unbeknown to him, there were two security cameras in the room and police officers watched him destroying the box from the room next door.

He was arrested as soon as he tried to stuff the money into his pockets, news agency ANP reports.