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A clumsy thief who robbed a Melbourne mum with a fake pistol has been captured on CCTV footage making his bungled escape.
Amie Mitchell, 51, was held up by the bandit while leaving her Muffin Break store in Deer Park, west of Melbourne, and was forced to give up $1,300 store takings, her purse, keys and mobile phone, reported the Herald Sun.
The offender pressed a fake gun to her chest as he demanded the cash and then made a botched getaway on a pushbike - falling off it twice.
Footage shows the assailant crashing his getaway bike 10 metres away from Ms Mitchell and dropping her phone.
The attacker then rode another 50 metres before running into a pole, coming off his bike again.
Ms Mitchell believed the gun was real and was horrified that she was going to die.
She said: 'I was terrified. I didn’t know whether to run or scream.'
'All that was in my head was my daughter. I thought I was going to die.'
Brimbank Embona detectives believe the offender may be behind another 'armed' robbery in St Albans, where a man held up a petrol station with a toy gun in February.
The man is believed to be of Southern European or Caucasian appearance and aged in his 20s or 30s.
He was wearing a black baseball cap, black hooded top, black gloves, jeans and white runners during the robbery.