An Australian shoplifter has been caught with his pants down after a saucy encounter with some hot spaghetti in a Perth supermarket.

A young man was caught attempting to steal "a hot meal of spaghetti" by putting it down his trousers. Shop owners have called the move "stupidity at its highest form".

The attempted theft was captured by security cameras on Saturday afternoon and posted to the Facebook page of a Forrest Road Fresh supermarket.



"Not only is it going to burn you but will expose you to the public for attempted shoplifting," the shop owners captioned the footage.

The torrid affair began as the man walked through the hot food aisle before settling on an aluminium foil container of pasta. In full view of a nearby customer, the man slid the pasta down his trouser leg.

The shoplifter started to limp as the container quickly became too hot.

The heated liaison escalated when the man, reaching into his pants, realised the container had burst inside his trousers.

He then made a beeline for the exit, leaving a trail of spaghetti in his wake.

Workers say the evidence led them to the crime scene, The West Australian reports.

Social media users were quick to respond to the Facebook video.

"If you're desperate for food you just have to ask not try steal it," one person commented.

"Natural justice in action," said another.

"Spaghetti and meatballs?" someone else joked.

The man has reportedly been banned from the premises.

Newshub.