This is the shocking moment a phone thief on an electric bike grabs a mobile phone from a man's hand as he waits to cross the road in west London.
The victim was standing on a street corner in South Kensington when the thief - clad in black - rode up to him and swiped it.
The startled man tried to chase the cyclist down but he was unable to catch up with the criminal on the e-bike.
More of the man's possessions tumbled out of his pockets as he tried in vain to pursue him.
Another man on an electric bike - possibly an accomplice - can be seen in the video that was filmed on a car's dashcam following behind.
The incident is just the latest example of a terrifying trend of 'gadget snatching' that is sweeping the capital.
This is the shocking moment a phone thief on an electric bike grabs a mobile phone from a man's hand as he waits to cross the road in west London
The victim was standing on a street corner in South Kensington when the thief - clad in black - rode up to him and swiped it
The incident in South Kensington was captured on a car's dashcam camera
Another man on an electric bike - possibly an accomplice - can be seen in the video following behind
It happened in broad daylight on the corner of Brompton Road and Sloane Avenue on Wednesday just after 6.30pm.
Local Peter Kane said: 'So, every person needs to get revenge and buy a steel clip that attaches to your phone.
'When they take it, yank it back and see them fall, baby.'
Matt Turbot fumed: 'England has one of the highest rates of CCTV cameras anywhere.
'Yet this s*** happens so frequently, it's astounding.'
Adam added: 'It's the banking apps they hack into in seconds then they clear the accounts out.'
Another said: 'The thing is people know that there are thieves around, everywhere.
'Yet they are so absorbed in their phones unaware of their surroundings and these are exactly the kind of people who are targeted.'
One said: 'Man just needs to use a Nokia 3310 in London in this day and age.'
It comes after a woman's phone was snatched by a mask-wearing thief as she dined at a London restaurant last month.
A woman's phone is snatched by a mask-wearing pickpocket from right under her nose, as she dines outside at a London restaurant
The thief pictured in the left background on the pavement in Covent Garden as the unsuspecting pair tuck into their dinner
The thief distracted the victim - who was at Xian Biang Biang Noodles in Covent Garden - with a begging sign before covertly swiping the device and calmly walking away.
The victim only realised that her phone had been taken ten minutes later and was initially not aware of the theft.
In May, shocking footage also emerged of a thief snatching a phone from a woman's hands as she stands at a bus stop near Oxford Circus.
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 he snatches the phone out of a young woman's hands and speeds off.
At the start of the clip - which was shared widely on TikTok and X - the thief can be seen riding alongside another cyclist who is also dressed all in black.
Then in April, horrifying footage was shared on social media of a thief on a bike grabbing a woman's mobile phone from her hands in Albany Place, Marylebone.
The clip was uploaded with the caption: 'Keep your head on swivel when in London.'
The victim is seen in the video attempting to chase after the offender while calling out: 'Hey, come back here.'
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 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 he snatches the phone out of a young woman's hands and speeds off
Another cyclist in a balaclava had passed by her in the seconds beforehand.
Similarly in March, two masked thieves were seen snatching a phone and fleeing on their bikes in Hampstead, north London - before crashing into an incoming car.
There were almost 91,000 phones snatched from Londoners in 2022, at an average of 248 a day, with only two per cent of the stolen devices recovered.
The Met Police has been contacted for comment on the latest incident.
