Two men appear to have been caught red-handed stealing the porfido slabs being used to resurface Merchants Street by a Valletta resident who posted a video on the popular YouTube website.

A middle-aged man in a white top and black trousers can be seen inching close to the paving slabs piled for workers to pick off.

He looks around and slides his hand under the plastic cover, picking up one of the rather heavy slabs.

As he waits for a passer-by to walk past, he looks around before swiftly collecting another slab, which he then places in the boot of his car.

An older man wearing a pair of shorts follows soon after, and he too is seen picking up some of the slabs. Some time later, the boot of the black car is packed with slabs and they drive away.

The two men have not been yet been caught by police but their antics have been captured on this five-minute YouTube video.

The grainy clip shot by a Valletta resident was put on the popular online service earlier in the week, but was removed yesterday by the user who feared recriminations.

According to the resident, who asked to remain unnamed, the two men turned up at Merchants Street (close to Is-Suq) practically every day over the past week at dusk and drove off with around 20 to 30 tiles a day.

The resident said he informed police twice about the incident but by the time they got to the scene, the two men had gone. Contacted yesterday, Valletta police said they were unaware of the case.

Though the destination of the slabs has not yet been established, the resident said: "It looks like they needed some new tiles for their garden."

The long-awaited paving of one of Valletta's most popular streets started last month and the job is expected to be completed by Christmas.