Moment thief on e-bike snatches phone from woman's hands as she walks down central London pavement on a Sunday morning

By OLIVIA DAY, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 00:01, 23 June 2026 | Updated: 00:11, 23 June 2026 London's phone robbery epidemic has claimed yet another victim after a woman walking along a pavement in Marylebone was targeted by e-bike thieves. The brazen daylight robbery occurred on Baker Street on Sunday morning, a known hotspot where a phone is stolen every 15 minutes.  Footage captured by an onlooker shows an e-bike rider dressed in all-black mount the curb and approach his unsuspecting victim from behind.  The thief plucks the woman's phone out of her hand as he passes by before returning to the road and cycling away. The outraged woman is seen running towards the thief before the short clip ends.   The footage was shared by content creator @pickpocketlondon, who explained the incident in an Instagram caption. 'Baker Street Sunday morning, snatchers phones acting freely as always,' it said.  The theft comes just weeks after a strikingly similar incident in the same area, where a woman's phone was snatched by a masked e-bike rider.  View this post on Instagram The brazen daylight robbery occurred on Baker Street in Marylebone on Sunday morning, a known hotspot where a phone is stolen every 15 minutes The thief plucks the woman's phone out of her hand as he passes by before returning to the road and cycling away (pictured) Footage shows the thief zooming down a busy street at about 8am, before spotting an oblivious woman scrolling through her device on the opposite pavement. He then quickly performs a U-turn and mounts the curb before swiping the phone from the victim's hand as she stands in horror. Content creator @hassuna_mousa, who uploaded the footage, said phone thieves operated on a 'daily basis' in Marylebone.  'Another mobile phone theft in the Marylebone area. According to local workers and delivery drivers who operate in this area every day, these phone thieves continue to target people on a daily basis, especially during the morning hours,' he wrote.  'If you regularly pass through this part of London, please stay alert. Avoid using your phone while distracted in public places and take extra care during the morning.' Nicky Campbell's daughter was also a victim of speeding e-bikes, when the 26-year-old was involved in a hit-and-run collision on Friday. The Long Lost Family presenter, 65, said Lilla was out on Friday night with two of her sisters and a friend in Peckham, south-east London, when the speeding bike hit her at a crossing. She was left bloodied on the ground. The unidentified rider – who was seen cycling erratically before the collision – fled the scene when an ambulance arrived and onlookers gathered. And in April, a 34-year-old man was arrested after a phone was snatched from a victim's hand in the early hours on Old Broad Street.  The suspect had tried to strike up a conversation before grabbing the phone and fleeing, prompting a swift call to police with a description. Officers used an extensive camera network to track the thief down in nearby Bishopsgate - before moving in to arrest him.  Nicky Campbell's daughter, Lilla (pictured), was also a victim of speeding e-bikes, when the 26-year-old was involved in a hit-and-run collision on Friday  An example of phone snatching in London where moped riders steal them from people's hands If your phone gets stolen, the City of London Police recommend: The phone was recovered and returned to the victim shortly afterwards.  But the majority of victims are not that lucky.  Nearly a third of all thefts (18,932) in London last year were reported in Westminster, where Marylebone is situated, making it the worst-affected borough.  Trailing behind the central London zone were the boroughs of Camden (5,276), Southwark (5,276) and Hackney (3,977). The other boroughs in the capital completing the top ten in 2025 were Newham (2,990), Islington (2,737), Tower Hamlets (1,921), Haringey (1,704) and Brent (1,531). Sutton and Richmond-upon-Thames recorded the lowest levels of the crime at 88 and 106 respectively, followed by Bexley on 107, Merton on 138 and Havering on 198. It comes as new figures released last month show phone theft has been 'effectively decriminalised' with fewer than one per cent of offences resulting in a charge.  Almost nine in ten cases are closed without a suspect being identified - and just 0.82 per cent of crimes led to a charge across 17 forces in England and Wales in 2024-25.  However, targeted efforts in Westminster and the West End have cut offences by 45.8 per cent so far this year, according to the Metropolitan Police. Across London, personal theft and robbery offences involving mobile phones have fallen by 18 per cent in the 12 months from June 2025 to May 2026. Your browser does not support iframes. Between January and May 2026, robbery offences were down 20.6 per cent compared with the same period in 2025. On June 1, a 10-day police crackdown dubbed Operation Reckoning targeted thieves, shops suspected of selling stolen goods and offenders using high-powered e-bikes modified to hit speeds of up to 60miles per hour.  Children, some as young as 13, are often enlisted by gangs to take part in the high-speed phone thefts, with the teens reportedly being paid up to £200 per phone.  The Met now uses Sur-Ron high-speed electronic motorbikes, heat-seeking drones and live facial recognition cameras to target offenders.  The force has agreed to share stolen device identifiers with Apple, which will help officers track stolen phones that re-enter circulation.  Early data shows a large number of stolen phones are not being reactivated, with the tech giant also making a global change to its security system to make stolen phones harder to resell, therefore diminishing their value to thieves.  Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has handed Apple an ultimatum to take action against the circulation of stolen phones or face calls for Government legislation.  The Met says Samsung and Google are also introducing security measures after years of campaigning against phone thefts.  No comments have so far been submitted. 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