This is the moment astonished thieves are seized by police in Italy before they even had a chance to finish their robbery.

The pair had been holding up a homewares store in Palermo, Sicily, and were about to make their getaway.

But before they could flee they were intercepted red-handed on the shop’s doorstep.

The police said that the officers had earlier spotted four masked men riding two scooters and decided to follow them at a distance to see what happened.

As the two pillion passengers ran into the shop the cops pounced before they could escape.

CCTV footage of the robbery in November 2022 shows the hoodie-wearing pair aiming a gun at a member of staff and being handed a bag with EUR250 in it.

But as they try to escape, one is pinned to the shop floor by one officer while the other is grabbed right outside the shop.

Police later found that the handgun was a replica.

Two suspects, aged 21 and 19, were arrested, and police are still seeking for the scooter drivers, who fled while the robbers were being arrested.