Our Pride of Britain newsletter brings you awards news and inspiring stories - don't miss out! Sign me up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A father-of-three who was caught stealing food from his local Tesco received a surprise when, instead of being punished, he was offered a job in the store.

The 31-year-old, who did not want to be named, said he stole the food from the shop in Malaysia because his family was hungry and he didn't have any money, according to the local Star newspaper .

He explained that he had been forced to quit his job to look after his children when his wife suffered complications in childbirth leading to her falling into a coma the week before.

After taking some fruit and drinks, he attempted to exit the store but was caught by general manager Radzuan Ma’asan.

(Image: Getty)

And when Radzuan interrogated him and heard why he had resorted to such measures, he decided to take a rather different approach - by offering the man a job at the store.

He also gave him some extra cash to help the family, while other Tesco staff were said to have visited the man's wife, who is out of the coma but sadly lost her baby in childbirth complications.

According to Radzuan, Tesco has not yet decided what the job will be. Radzuan said: "He was not a regular thief. When we questioned him, he immediately confessed, saying that he stole the fruits and drinks because his son was hungry.

“So, we decided not to lodge a police report as this was a genuine case of extreme poverty.

“For now, our priority is to ensure that he enrols his seven-year-old son in a school."