A bungling thief was arrested after he was trapped in the ceiling of a pawnshop he was trying to burgle in the Philippines.

Juanito Dilvo Jr., 25, had taken methamphetamine 'for courage' before breaking into the secondhand store in Mandaue City, Cebu province at around 5 am on December 14.

But as he was drilling through the shop's ceiling he was heard by a nearby vendor opening her eatery.

The alarmed local called the police and armed law enforcers soon had the pawnshop surrounded.

Footage shows a Special Weapons And Tactics team wearing body armour and carrying shields swarming the shutter doors as Juanito was reported to have been carrying a gun and a grenade.

Other cops went to the pawnshop's staff entrance to conduct negotiations with the drug-addled robber, who was hiding in the hole he had drilled and threatened to turn the revolver on himself.

Police Staff Sergeant Awing Tabayag who led the negotiations said: 'We were sincere with him and gave him hope that there is still a chance to change his life.

'He claimed to have no relatives or parents and that he was hopeless and just wanted to end his life. I warned him against doing it since it's Christmas and told him that even the blind people can laugh despite having trouble walking because they want to live.'

After a tense half hour, authorities finally convinced Juanito to turn himself in. He was seen being escorted into a police vehicle as a crowd of curious residents watched.

Cops confiscated from him 5,900 PHP (106 USD), a 0.38 revolver left by the security guard inside the pawnshop, and a grenade he claimed to have picked up.

Amparo Paduga, the quick-thinking vendor who foiled the attempted burglary, told local reporters: 'I heard something clattering and thought it could not have been an animal. It was definitely a person because the noise was too loud to have been a rat.'

Police Major Angelito Valleser, Labangon Police Chief, said: 'The suspect tried to escape by up the ceiling because he had trouble squeezing through the hole he had drilled.'

Meanwhile, father-of-two Juanito said he was 'sorry for what he did'.

He said his common-law partner had ended their relationship six months ago, and he was driven to loot the pawnshop 'to provide for his children' aged two and four.

He added he had been observing various establishments in the area before finally making his move on the pawnshop.

Juanito was detained in police custody pending legal action.

Cebu City Police Office director Police Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog said in a statement: 'We thank the people who reported this to our policemen. And of course, to the policemen, Police Station 10 personnel, we also would like to commend them for the immediate and swift resolution of that robbery incident there which is under their area of responsibility.'