The mother of “Batman”, the Żebbuġ hairdresser hailed a hero after leading to the arrest of a man suspected of being behind a string of thefts, was held up yesterday by a man wearing a pair of boxer shorts on his head.

The 57-year-old woman was running the lotto office in Victory Street, Qormi at about 1.45 p.m. when a man whose face was covered with a pair of boxer shorts walked in brandishing a gun.

The woman handed over €10 but the intruder asked her for another €10. She gave him the money and he walked out, sources said.

Her son, Patrizio Parascandalo, 31, last week helped the police arrest a man suspected of having carried out a series of hold-ups in Żebbuġ over the past weeks.

The hold-up yesterday was over in a matter of minutes and the woman immediately called the police. When they arrived, they found the boxer shorts beneath a car and the jacket worn by the thief under another vehicle, the sources said.

Mr Parascandalo, nicknamed Batman by his wife after the ordeal, resisted a hooded man who walked into his salon and held customers and a 12-year-old boy at gunpoint. In the struggle, Mr Parascandalo removed the black balaclava covering the man’s face. The thief escaped but was soon spotted walking into an alley by Mr Parascandalo and his cousin, who chased him. They then informed the police who arrested him.

A 54-year-old man appeared in court on Sunday and was charged with five hold-ups. He is pleading not guilty.