A clueless gang of armed robbers were caught in the act when they raided a shop near Charleroi and agreed to go away - twice - and "come back later when the till is full".

Six men brandishing weapons burst into an e-cigarette shop in Montignies-sur-Sambre on Saturday afternoon and demanded money.

The shop's owner told the gang that they would be better off coming back at closing time when he had more cash. To his amazement, they agreed and went away, giving him time to alert the police.

"The police said: Sir, they'll never come back," shopkeeper Didier told RTL. "I said to the police: I assure you, they're idiots. They'll come back."

Come back they did - but an hour too early. "I had a go at them," Didier added. "I told them they needed a better watch, that we agreed 18.30 not 17.30. And they went away again."

Plain-clothed police officers hid in the back office ready for the gang's return at 18.30 - and promptly wrestled the robbers to the floor and arrested them.

Didier told Le Soir he had a feeling the gang were not very serious. "They said they ran the town and I had to pay them €1,000 a week for their protection," he said. "I think they'd been watching a few too many movies."