Police in Rome have arrested two men suspected of carrying out a string of armed robberies dressed as Father Christmas.

At least six stores in the Appia neighbourhood south of Rome city centre reported thefts by the two in the past month, in which one of the men pointed a gun at shop staff while another grabbed the cash.

Police said they found guns and Father Christmas costumes in one of the men's homes, and were still looking for possible accomplices.

A film with a similar theme, "The Band of Father Christmases" featuring three men wrongly accused of being robbers, was a box-office hit in Italy last year.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.