CCTV footage shows the crook dropping his tracksuit bottoms and having a pooh in the hallway of the fitness club in Essen, Germany, before setting fire to the hall.

Gym boss Jacob Fatih told the Austrian Times: "The building is under 24-7 CCTV protection. Its totally sick. Who does such a thing? I was sleeping in my flat next door. I could be dead."

Police say DNA recovered from the scene has given them plenty to go on.