Met Police investigate brazen phone snatch caught on camera in Park Lane, London

Police are investigating after a pedestrian had their phone snatched by an e bike rider in a busy part of London.

Video shared on Twitter by cabbie and cyclist Bloggs shows the rider mount the pavement in Park Lane on Friday morning and pinch the device.

The victim attempted to give chase but quickly gave up as the biker sped off before bemused pedestrians after the brazen crime.

The video has now been seen more than 160,000 times.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police said: “We are aware of a video on social media that shows a robbery in the Park Lane area.

“Enquiries are ongoing.”

Phone snatching is a well established problem in London and the City of London Police carried out an operation last year aimed at reducing the crimes.

Last October, City broker Henry Charlton-Weedy, 35, was one of three people slashed by balaclava-clad thugs as they helped a phone robbery victim in Bishopsgate.

Louis Parkinson, 26, and Tyrone Dean, 24, were jailed for 12 years for their “mindless violence and utter lawlessness”. In August, a judge commended Mr Charlton-Weedy and eight others who thwarted them and helped injured victims.

Superintendent Neal Donohoe, of the City of London Police, said: “Phone snatching has a significant impact on victims and our key priority has been to reduce the number of phones stolen and we relentlessly target those criminals responsible.”