A ZIMBABWEAN man who used a pair of boxer shorts to hide his face while robbing a London shop has been sentenced to three years in jail after his bizarre disguise failed.

The Croydon Crown Court heard that Tazviona Maluge Bhebe, 40, entered the off-licence in Sutton on the morning of January 21 wearing a boxer short to hide his face.

Wielding a kitchen knife, Bhebe walked up to the counter and peered out through a leg hole in his plain light blue shorts, telling shop worker Harry Mahalingham , 34: "Give me your money or I will use the knife."

He then walked around the counter to steal £100 from the till but Mahalingham decided to fight back, jumped onto the shop counter and out of the shop to grab a large, A-frame display sign.

Mahalingha then went back inside the shop and swung the green sign at Bhebe who was still behind the counter, hitting him across the shoulder.

The robber's face was caught on CCTV when his bizarre disguise fell down as he tried to defend himself. He then chased the shop assistant outside the shop before running off along the road, discarding the kitchen knife and boxer shorts as he streamed past shocked onlookers.

Police were quickly on the scene and seized the shop’s CCTV, securing forensic evidence, and taking witness statements from the sales assistant and pedestrians nearby.

Detective Constable Andy Thornton said: “The CCTV shows his boxer shorts shifting to reveal his face during the robbery.”

Bhebe was eventually trekked down and charged with robbery and possession of a knife.

He pleaded guilty to robbery on April 2.