Londoners have typically British response when phone thief is stopped by witness

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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.