A quick-thinking shopkeeper threw hot chilli powder in the face of robbers who tried to steal money from an East Hill off-licence.

The three young men, who had their faces covered, attempted to hold up East Hill Food and Wine, on East Hill Road, after entering the shop brandishing a knife and demanding money from the till.

But Saparatmam Paheerathan, 28, who was sitting behind the counter, grabbed the powder and launched it into the eyes of one of the robbers, which stunned him and temporarily blinded him.

The gang then panicked and fled the off-licence scene empty handed, at about 7.50pm on December 21.

Mr Paheerathan said: “The three men came in, and one had a knife in his hands. They demanded I give them the money from the till, so I shouted to one of my colleagues for help.

“Then one of them came towards me to get at the till, so I picked up the powder and threw it at him. It got him in the eyes and obviously caused him some pain.

“By then I had already pressed the panic alarm and the police were on their way, so they went outside of the shop and ran off.”

Two of the robbers in this incident are described as being white, between 5ft7ins - 5ft9ins, of medium build, wearing dark jackets with a hoods, dark trousers, black balaclavas and black gloves.

The third was white, wearing a black jacket, with a dark blue scarf pulled up over his mouth and nose, and white gloves.

The shop had been robbed only five days before on the evening of December 16 when around 8:50pm, two men in balaclavas burst into the shop also carrying a knife, and threatened Mr Paheerathan.

Fearing for his own safety, Mr Paheerathan opened the till and they escaped with about £600 cash and his mobile phone.

Mr Paheerathan believes the two robberies were linked, saying he thought it was the same people who took the money in the first robbery who attempted to steal money in the second bungled robbery.

In reaction to being the victim of two robberies in less than a week, the shop has now installed two CCTV cameras to increase security and try and deter any potential robbers from stealing from them.

Contact Jon McPhee of the Priority Crime Unit on 020 8247 8770 or call Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 with any information.