That is the stunning second a girl has her cellphone stolen in broad daylight by certainly one of London’s rising horde of motorcycle crooks.
The unsuspecting sufferer was minding her personal enterprise when the person clad in black got here up behind her and snatched the cellular earlier than dashing off.
Her try to present chase was futile because the thief raced off on an e-bike able to speeds as much as 30 miles per hour.
The brazen theft occurred on 6 June on a busy highway close to Tavistock Sq. in Marylebone, central London, only a brief distance from Euston Station and the British Museum.
Gangs of muggers on e-bikes are terrorising the streets of London as they aim kids, moms and commuters by snatching their mobiles
A person filming the video from a passing automobile chillingly predicts what was about to occur, with the onlooker clearly heard within the 9 second video saying: ‘He’ll seize her cellphone.’
Because the bike criminal snatches the cellphone he’s heard saying ‘see ya’ earlier than including: ‘Oh my days.’
A spate of assaults has shocked many Londoners because the horrific crime wave has swept by means of the capital.
Gangs of muggers on e-bikes are terrorising the streets of London as they aim kids, moms and commuters by snatching their mobiles.
Figures have proven {that a} cell phone is reported as stolen in London each six minutes.
There have been virtually 91,000 telephones snatched from Londoners in 2022, at a median of 248 a day, with solely two per cent of the stolen units recovered.
Final month a video went viral that confirmed a bicycle owner dressed all in black trip as much as a gaggle of individuals standing close to the Curzon cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue in London’s West Finish.
That is the stunning second a thief on a motorcycle snatches a sufferer’s cellphone from her fingers in broad daylight at a bus cease in central London
Within the video, a bicycle owner dressed all in black rides as much as group of individuals standing close to the Curzon cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue in London’s West Finish
The thief slows down as he approaches them earlier than he snatches the cellphone out of a younger girl’s fingers and speeds off
The thief slows down as he approaches them earlier than he snatches the cellphone out of a younger girl’s fingers and speeds off.
Firstly of the clip – which has been shared extensively on TikTok and X – the thief will be seen driving alongside one other bicycle owner who can also be dressed all in black.
The incident was simply one other instance of the terrifying pattern of ‘gadget snatching’ that’s sweeping the capital.
In April, horrifying footage was shared on social media of a thief on a motorcycle grabbing a girl’s cell phone from her fingers in Albany Place, Marylebone.
The clip was uploaded with the caption: ‘Hold your head on swivel when in London.’
The sufferer is seen within the video trying to chase after the offender whereas calling out: ‘Hey, come again right here.’
One other bicycle owner in a balaclava had handed by her within the seconds beforehand.
Equally in March, two masked thieves had been seen snatching a cellphone and fleeing on their bikes in Hampstead, north London – earlier than crashing into an incoming automobile.
The thief was seen approaching his unsuspecting sufferer on a motorcycle from behind as she walked alongside Albany Avenue in central London
He swiftly swooped to grab the cell phone from her fingers
Then in February a motorcyclist was proven on CCTV trailing a person down the pavement in Tower Bridge Street earlier than snatching his cellphone and dashing off.
The sufferer, a 28-year-old banker named Peter, later instructed MailOnline: ‘I simply felt one thing on my shoulder, then a hand went straight for my cellphone and it was only a snatch and seize.’
Footage exhibits Peter lunging in direction of the motorcyclist making an attempt to seize his cellphone, earlier than chasing him down the road.
Final August a brazen thief on an electrical bike snatched a girl’s cellphone in broad daylight simply metres from the Ritz resort close to Inexperienced Park.
Sprint cam footage confirmed him speeding by means of stationary site visitors at a pink mild, mounting the pavement and stealing the gadget from the lone pedestrian.
The Metropolitan Police has urged Londoners to concentrate on their environment and to make use of safety features on their telephones.
Locals warned guests to central London to ‘watch their backs’ as a result of spate of robberies. Jason Inexperienced fumed: ‘Cellphone thieves are the scum of the earth.’
One other, Wealthy, stated that cellphone robberies are ‘getting uncontrolled’ and requested: ‘Met Police, are you guys going to deal with this downside?’
Whereas a 3rd, Bert, joked: ‘London, the place wing mirrors on a cell phone is an asset.’
The Metropolitan and Metropolis of London police forces have stated they’re tackling the crime spree head-on.
The Metropolis of London Police stated it’s operating a focused operation that’s disrupting cellphone snatching within the Sq. Mile.
The operation was began as a result of worrying rise the power noticed in cellphone snatching in 2022, which carried on into final and this yr.
The power is even spraying criminals and their mopeds with a DNA spray in a bid to hyperlink them to crimes in the event that they race away.
Store house owners suspected of shopping for stolen handsets have additionally been raided and the power has reintroduced a cycle crew to assist deal with cellphone snatchers.
The power has been seizing 5 unlawful e-bikes and e-scooters each week which can be recognized for use by cellphone snatchers.
In the meantime, a Metropolitan Police spokesman beforehand instructed MailOnline: ‘Tackling theft and violent crime stays a precedence for the Met.
‘Operational ways to enhance cell phone robberies and theft embrace maximising devoted proactive police operations, and rising officers in native hotspot areas to cut back cell phone theft and theft offences.
‘The Met can also be working with native companions equivalent to cell phone networks, and native companies in hotspot areas to interrupt the cycle of stolen mobiles coming into felony markets.
‘We all know that opportunistic criminals goal areas of excessive footfall and tourism, equivalent to Westminster and Soho inside London.
‘To fight cell phone robberies, we’ve got specialist groups of each uniformed officers and detectives who attend theft calls rapidly, search the realm with victims and witnesses for suspects, and assist to safe CCTV and forensic proof to assist cell phone robberies and investigations.’
The power suggested folks to stay vigilant in crowded areas and on the transport community and requested anybody who falls sufferer of a cell phone theft to contact the police right away.
The Metropolitan Police has been approached for remark.
