A significant breakthrough has been made in one of the most attention-grabbing and widely shared police manhunts in recent British history.

Yes, police think they have found the David Schwimmer lookalike who allegedly stole a crate of beer from a shop in Blackpool.

A 36-year-old man was arrested in Southall on Monday night.

Lancashire Police announced the news on Twitter with a nod to Schwimmer, who helped promote the manhunt in quite spectacular style.

The Met Police in turn acknowledged the shoutout. There has been no word from Schwimmer.

Last month the force’s appeal quickly went viral after social media users pointed out that the man captured in CCTV footage drew an uncanny resemblance to Ross Geller from Friends.

The post on Facebook was soon flooded with jokes. 

And the man himself responded – by apparently stealing some beer on the other side of the Atlantic.

The original post took on a life of its own, receiving nearly 100,000 comments in less than 24 hours.

But the force got in on the fun too, later posting: “Thank you to everyone for your speedy responses.

“We have investigated this matter thoroughly and have confirmed that David Schwimmer was in America on this date.

“We’re so sorry it had to be this way.”