A phone snatcher was stopped in his tracks after fed-up Londoners have taken it upon themselves to catch the thieves.
A man was allegedly caught at Blackfriars station taking someone’s mobile on Tuesday evening.
But as he went to make his escape, passengers rushed in to stop him.
They pressed his body and legs against the platform, but he continued to deny he had done anything wrong.
The vigilantes insisted he unlock the device to prove it was his, but the man only replied: ‘My leg, my leg,’ and ‘it’s broken’.
After police arrived and searched the man, they found he had three mobile phones, a bank card with a different name and even a laptop.
How many people have had their phone snatched this year?
Some 78,000 people had phones or bags stolen from them on British streets in the year to March 2024.
That is a rise of more than 150% on the 31,000 ‘snatch thefts’ in the 12 months before, according to data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
Figures also show that four in five police investigations were closed before a suspect was even found and just 0.8% of ‘theft from the person’ complaints resulted in a charge.
The government has pledged to crackdown on the scourge, with the Home Office saying it will work more closely with tech firms and police chiefs.
In this year alone, 213 phones have already been stolen in the City of London.
For the same period between 1 January and 30 April last year, there were 294 phone snatching reports.
British Transport Police said: ‘Officers were called to Blackfriars railway station at around 10.30pm 9 September following reports of a phone theft.
‘Officers attended and a man in his 20s was arrested and taken into custody.
‘Upon being searched, he was found in possession of three mobile phones, a bank card with a different name, and a backpack containing a laptop.’
How many people have been caught?
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In June the Met announced they managed to arrest 10 people involved in phone snatching gangs with their new Flying Squad.
On Thursday, 19 June eight men, aged between 20 and 31, and two 17-year-old boys were arrested at addresses in London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery.
The force also carried out a two week focus at the start of the year, leading to the arrests of 292 people.
Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier, who is leading the investigation from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: ‘Phone robbery has boomed globally, and London is not immune.
‘There is a concerted effort by criminal gangs to steal phones and sell them overseas as part of a multi-million-pound industry.
‘The Met is catching more of these criminals and operations such as this are vital to disrupting offenders who cause fear and misery to shop workers and communities.’
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