Video: Boxer shorts robber foiled on CCTV

A robber was jailed for three years after the boxer shorts he was using to disguise his face failed to hide his identity.

CCTV caught knife-wielding Tazviona Maluge Bhebe, 40, raiding the Broadway Mini Market in Sutton, South London, with a pair of light blue boxer shorts over his head.

Footage shows Zimbabwe-born Bhebe threatening shop worker Harry Mahalingham, 34, of Morden, with the blade and demanding money.

Peering out through a leg hole in his underpants, the man says: “Give me your money or I will use the knife.”

After Mr Mahalingham refuses, the armed robber walks around the counter to steal £100 from the till.

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Not put off by the bizarre disguise, the fearless shop worker fends off the robber - jumping over the counter and grabbing an A-frame display sign from outside the store.

The assistant re-enters the shop where he swings the green sign – hitting Bhebe on the shoulder and revealing his face to the camera.

Bhebe then chases the sales assistant outside the shop to a nearby roundabout before giving up the chase and running off, discarding the kitchen knife and boxer shorts in front of shocked onlookers.

Detectives were able to identify Bhebe from the CCTV, while DNA taken from the discarded boxer shorts and knife was used as forensic evidence.

It is also reported that the hapless robber had chosen a store around the corner from his home allowing neighbours to instantly recognise him as he fled the scene.

Detective Constable Andy Thornton, of Sutton’s Burglary & Robbery Investigation Team, said: “The CCTV shows his boxer shorts shifting to reveal his face during the robbery.”

Bhebe pleaded guilty to the robbery and possessing a knife.

He was sentenced by Croydon Crown Court to three years imprisonment.