Burglars scared away after being spooked by the owner’s six-foot SEX DOLL sitting on the sofa
Store owner says his goods were saved by "tall, beautiful blonde" Shela Louise
HAPLESS burglars who smashed their way in to an art shop left almost empty-handed after they were scared away by the owner's six-foot-tall SEX DOLL.
Store owner Derrick Thompson says his goods were saved by Shela Louise - a silicone "tall, beautiful blonde" he keeps sitting on a sofa.
Derrick, a caricaturist, bought Shela from eBay's German site last year to pose next to his artwork and attract customers into his shop.
He believes Shela is "the stereotypical perfect girlfriend" - and that her life-like qualities helped deter the burglars, who only made off with around a thousand pounds worth of stock rather than any more.
Assistant Paul Smith said: "Shela wouldn't have done much when they broke in, but she must have freaked them out and sped up the theft."
Since 42-year-old Derrick set up a Facebook account for Shela the plastic and silicone doll has received love messages from fans in America, Asia and the Middle East - but he insists she is a mannequin girlfriend rather than a sex doll.
Derrick and his assistant Paul upload pictures of the model to her social media account to promote Demuz Art in Tarring, West Sussex.
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Shela now has more than 1,500 friends and 250 followers from across the world.
The glass-eyed figure has been sent declarations of love and pictures of red roses on the social networking site - with some users believing the mannequin is real, according to Paul.
The 44-year-old said: "People comment with things like 'nice' and 'beautiful'.
"One guy said 'I am here for you darling'.
"A lot of the time I comment back with something like 'go away mate, she's already married' or 'I'm her brother'."
He added: "I'm just trying to stick up for her.
"You think, are they blind? You can tell she isn't real.
"Unless they are doing it for a laugh and playing along.
"Or maybe they like mannequins - maybe it is a fetish."
Derrick said his girlfriend Nina came up with the mannequin's name.
Shela - pronounced Sheila - is the Australian slang term for a woman, and Louise was a girl Derrick went to college with that the mannequin reminded him of.
He said the mannequin is so popular because she looks like "the stereotypical perfect girlfriend" - a "dolly bird type of girl" who is always "glamorous".
Derrick added: "It's a thing that generally, Western society likes. It's a blonde, tall, beautiful girl."