Another victim of London’s phone theft epidemic: Moment thief on an e-bike swipes mobile from woman’s hands as she walks down the street in Marylebone

This is the shocking moment a woman’s phone is stolen in broad daylight by one of their own London‘s growing horde of bicycle thieves.

The unsuspecting victim was minding her own business when the black-clad man came up behind her and took the cellphone before driving away.

Her attempt to give chase was futile as the thief sped off on a e-bike capable of speeds up to 30 miles per hour.

The brazen theft took place on June 6 on a busy road near Tavistock Square in Marylebone, central London, just a short distance from Euston Station and the British Museum.

Gangs of robbers on e-bikes terrorize the streets of London as they target children, mothers and commuters by taking their mobile phones

A man filming the video from a passing car chillingly predicts what will happen, with the viewer clearly heard in the nine-second video saying: “He’s going to take her phone.”

As the bike thug takes the phone, he is heard saying “goodbye” before adding, “Oh my days.”

A wave of attacks has left many Londoners horrified crime wave sweeps through the capital.

Gangs of robbers on e-bikes are terrorizing the streets of London as they target children, mothers and commuters by taking their mobile phones.

Figures show that a mobile phone is reported stolen every six minutes in London.

Nearly 91,000 phones were taken from Londoners in 2022, an average of 248 per day, with only two percent of stolen devices recovered.

Last month, a video went viral showing a cyclist dressed all in black riding towards a group of people standing near the Curzon cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue in London’s West End.

This is the shocking moment a thief on a bike snatches a victim’s phone from her hands in broad daylight at a bus stop in central London

In the video, a cyclist dressed all in black rides up to a group of people standing near the Curzon cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue in London’s West End.

The thief slows down as he approaches them, before snatching the phone from a young woman’s hands and driving away

The thief slows down as he approaches them, before snatching the phone from a young woman’s hands and speeding away.

At the beginning of the video – which is widely shared on TikTok and X – the thief can be seen riding next to another cyclist who is also dressed all in black.

The incident was just one example of the terrifying trend of ‘gadget theft’ sweeping the capital.

In April, horrific images of a thief on a bicycle grabbing a woman’s mobile phone from her hands in Albany Place, Marylebone, were shared on social media.

The clip was uploaded with the caption: ‘Keep your head on the dial when you’re in London.’

The video shows the victim trying to chase the perpetrator while shouting, “Hey, come back here.”

Another cyclist wearing a balaclava had passed her in the seconds before.

Similarly, in March, two masked thieves were seen taking a phone and fleeing on their bikes in Hampstead, north London – before crashing into an oncoming car.

The thief was seen approaching his unsuspecting victim from behind on a bicycle as she walked down Albany Street in central London

He quickly made a dive to grab the cell phone from her hands

Then in February, a motorcyclist was shown on CCTV chasing a man along the pavement in Tower Bridge Road before taking his phone and driving away.

The victim, a 28-year-old banker called Peter, later told MailOnline: ‘I just felt something on my shoulder, and then a hand went straight to my phone and it was just a grab.’

Footage shows Peter rushing at the motorcyclist and trying to grab his phone before chasing him down the street.

Last August, a brazen thief on an electric bike grabbed a woman’s phone in broad daylight just meters from the Ritz hotel near Green Park.

Dashcam footage showed him speeding through stopped traffic at a red light, climbing onto the pavement and stealing the gadget from the lone pedestrian.

The Metropolitan Police has urged Londoners to be aware of their surroundings and use security features on their phones.

Locals warned visitors to central London to ‘be on their guard’ due to the spate of robberies. Jason Green said angrily: ‘Phone thieves are the scum of the earth.’

Another, Rich, said phone robberies are “getting out of hand” and asked, “With the police, are you going to tackle this problem?”

While a third, Bert, joked: ‘London, where wing mirrors on a mobile phone are an asset.’

The Metropolitan and City of London police forces have said they are tackling the crime wave head-on.

City of London Police said they are carrying out a targeted operation to disrupt phone stealing in the Square Mile.

The operation was launched due to the worrying increase the force saw in phone thefts in 2022, which has continued last year and this year.

The force even sprays criminals and their mopeds with a DNA spray in an attempt to link them to crimes as they speed away.

Shop owners suspected of buying stolen phones have also been robbed and the force has once again set up a bicycle team to tackle phone robbers.

Police have seized five illegal e-bikes and e-scooters every week known to be used by phone thieves.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police previously told MailOnline: ‘Tackling theft and violent crime remains a priority for the Met.

‘Operational tactics to improve robberies and cell phone theft include maximizing dedicated proactive police operations and increasing the number of officers in local hotspot areas to reduce cell phone theft and theft.

‘The Met is also working with local partners such as mobile phone networks and local businesses in hotspot areas to break the cycle of stolen mobile phones in criminal markets.

‘We know that opportunistic criminals are targeting areas with high footfall and tourism, such as Westminster and Soho in London.

‘To combat mobile phone robberies, we have specialist teams of both uniformed officers and detectives who attend robberies quickly, search the victim and witness area for suspects, and help secure CCTV and forensic evidence in support of robberies and mobile phone investigations.”

Police advised people to remain vigilant in busy areas and on the transport network and asked anyone who falls victim to a mobile phone heist to contact police immediately.

The Metropolitan Police has been contacted for comment.