Australia outraged by man taking bat from Phil Hughes memorial at Sydney Cricket Ground

A man in Australia has caused outrage after taking a cricket bat left out at a memorial in honour of Phil Hughes.

Security footage shows the man walking around the Sydney Cricket Ground - where Hughes was hit by ball and subsequently died - and picking up the bat left in memory of the deceased cricketer.

People around the world place their bats outside their homes and at cricket ground as part of the #putoutyourbats campaign to honour Hughes, whose funeral took place on Wednesday.

The man, dressed in light-coloured clothing, is seen to look around the area, wandering into the cricket ground to see if anyone is around, before going to the memorial and picking up the bat and walking off.

New South Wales police commissioner Andrew Scipione was quick to condemn the actions of the man.

"It just doesn’t make sense," Scipione announced.

"As Australian as the game of cricket is, stealing someone’s bat is as un-Australian as it can get."

This is the second such case in as many days after Matt Mildwater had a bat stolen from outside his home in Klemzig, South Australia.

"Kicking over someone’s headstone, that’s basically what it is,” Mildwater said.

"Someone out there with no feeling toward other people’s feelings."