Police deny hilarious composite image is an April Fool's joke

A police search for an alleged burglar has gone viral, after authorities released a sketch of the criminal with a rather unusual facial feature.

The drawing of the suspect, who is believed to be one of two men behind a robbery in Stratford-upon-Avon in England, shows a man with brown eyes, dark stubble - and a comically large mouth.

The wide mouth with thin lips and huge teeth has seen the image go viral on Twitter, with some believing the post was an April Fool's gag.

"We can confirm that his is real and that we anticipated the attention!" Warwickshire Police wrote on Twitter.

"But jokes aside, it was created from a description provided and it's serious as a woman was victim of a horrible crime."

The original post was flooded with memes shortly after being published, with the offender being compared to the Cheshire cat and Wallace and Gromit, to name just a few.

The crime involved two offenders, with one distracting the home's occupant while the second man searched the property.

The pair fled with an unknown amount of cash.

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The hilarious sketch comes two months after police in the US released an even more unlikely witness description of a thief in Pennsylvania.

This sketch was entirely hand-drawn, and showed a man with a pointed chin, narrow-set eyes and straight dark hair.

Incredibly, just days after the image was posted online, a suspect was caught and arrested - and he looked strikingly similar to the simple sketch.

Police in England are hoping this viral post will have the same effect.

"Hopefully the attention will mean we identify the offender/bring him to justice quicker," Warwickshire Police said.