Social media responds as David Schwimmer clears his name in hilarious fashion

How does a police appeal for information about a theft at a Blackpool restaurant lead to Twitter users posting references to the TV sitcom Friends? Here’s how.

Police in Blackpool had posted on Facebook asking for witnesses to identify a suspect pictured carrying what appeared to be a carton of cans.

Facebook users quickly piled into the comments section, pointing out the suspect’s likeness to David Schwimmer’s character Ross Geller in the well-loved US show.

“Officers, I swear it wasn’t me. As you can see, I was in New York. To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation. #itwasntme” Schwimmer wrote.

The post was immediately retweeted by tens of thousands of people, and as you can imagine the replies were mostly of a similar nature.

Classic episodes were referenced, such as Ross discovering Joey had proposed to Rachel.

And who could forget The One With Unagi – ahhh, salmon skin roll.

Of course, no Ross reference is complete without mention of whether or not they were on a break…

And while Schwimmer was in America on the day of the incident, some joked that it could well have been his in-show doppelganger (also played by Schwimmer).

Keep your eyes peeled for Russ, everybody.