Nanton RCMP are investigating after a man in a stolen white truck helped himself to a large amount of lottery tickets at the North Esso gas station on May 4.

The brazen daylight theft has left the employees of gas station a bit shaken up.

Darryl Terrio said his staff responded exactly the right way to the situation.

"A guy came in and waited for everybody to leave in the store,"  said Terrio. "He distracted the attendant and as soon as she turned her back he grabbed a pile of lottery tickets off the counter and made his way outside."

He dropped the tickets on the way out the door, picked them back up and tossed it in the back of a white truck, which they found out afterwards was also stolen.

"Luckily the staff did everything right and just let him go."

The RCMP have pictures of him and the truck, taken from the Esso Surveillance Video.

The truck was stolen Sunday night in Calgary.