It is said there is honour among thieves - but an armed raid in South Africa appears to have put paid to the old proverb.

CCTV footage of the supermarket robbery shows a gunman snatching the cash register while pointing his weapon at two of the store's employees.

But as he fills his bag with stolen money, some of the notes drop to the floor, prompting a customer to crawl into shot and start scooping up the fallen cash.

The man is then seen slithering briskly across the floor past the feet of the robber before disappearing out of shot.

The 30-second video has been shared thousands of times on social media.


Mzwandile Nokwindla commented on Facebook: "Jeez....that's how bad it is. A robbery within a robbery. Hope crawler is safe with his loot at the back there."

Japhta Mothibedi wrote: "That guy is brave crawling like a crocodile in the river banks."

However, some viewers of the video questioned whether the two men were working together.

Owen Chihumelah wrote on Facebook: "The robber saw him and they could be working in cahoots with the robber.

"Looking closely on the video shows that robber saw the movements of the crawling customer."

Mxolisi Masilela added: "He's not a victim, he was doing his best to avoid the cameras."

The Usave supermarket chain told South African news website News24 that the robbery happened at one of its stores in northern Gauteng at around 12pm on 15 November.

"No one was injured during the robbery and trauma counselling was provided for those involved," the company said.

Police are investigating but no arrests have been made.