A furniture store owner has likened this CCTV footage from a recent bungled robbery to a Benny Hill sketch. And but for the absence of a baffled little bald man and a gaggle of bikini-clad women, we'd have to agree.
The attempted crime took place last Saturday when a pair of would-be thieves - part of a three-man gang - bundled a couple of £400 settees into the back of a van outside Sofa King in Northampton.
The only problem? They neglected to close the van doors - so manager Justin Hallett simply ran up and retrieved the sofas before they drove away.
Store owner Mark Kypta told the Daily Mail: "Our prices aren't exactly high, so they must have been pretty desperate. Luckily, Justin - not even thinking of his own safety - ran out and jumped into the back of the van and got the sofas back."
He then added: "I think he's in line for a Christmas bonus now. He was pretty brave. The whole footage looks like it should have a Benny Hill soundtrack to it."
Of course, the Sofa King dumb thieves (say it quickly!) are just the latest in the world's rich and varied history of daft criminals...