A pedestrian had his mobile phone swiped out of his hand by a crook on an electric bike on one of the capital’s poshest streets.
The man was casually walking along Park Lane, Mayfair, west London just yards from the £1,345-a-night, five star The Dorchester hotel.
The victim was looking at his mobile as he strolled down the street near the junction of Aldford Street.
The thief rode up behind him and took his phone from his right hand in a lightning quick swoop.
The bemused man couldn’t react quick enough to stop it and looked puzzled and unable to give chase.
It happened yesterday (29 Jul) morning at 9:51am.
The Dorchester hotel which is opposite Hyde Park is just 50 metres from the spot where it happened.
It follows a spate of similar crimes across the capital in the last year, as reported on Need To Know.
Local Calvin McDonald said: “I’d love to have been walking in the opposite direction whilst this is happening.
“Someone would have been on the receiving end of a close line.
“I’ve done something similar before in Knightsbridge, made the thief eat some humble pie before returning the phone to the poor tourist.”
David Brady added: “Be aware, be 360 degrees aware.”
Angelica Lee said: “He carried on walking so calmly.”
Another added: “He didn’t even run, he just accepted it.”
A Met Police spokesperson said: “Police were called at approximately 10:45ham on Monday, 29 July to reports of a mobile phone theft near Park Lane, W1.
“No arrests, enquiries continue.”
Last August, a brazen crook on an electric bike snatched a woman’s mobile phone just metres from The Ritz Hotel in Mayfair.
In June, two men on a moped tried to swipe a man’s phone as he stood on a street corner in Tottenham, north London
