5 days ago
Moment 'phone thief' on e-bike leads Met Police on five-mile chase through packed streets of London and narrowly misses pedestrians in desperate bid to escape
As it emerged that nine phones were stolen an hour by thieves in London last year, the Met Police appears to be pulling out all the stops to crack down on e-bike thugs.
Dramatic footage released by London's police force showed how one suspected thief speed between groups of pedestrians crossing the road in the middle of the capital as he was pursued by motorbike cops.
The balaclava-clad rider had allegedly stolen a £1,200 iPhone 16 Pro Max less than an hour beforehand on Whitechapel Road in Tower Hamlets, East London.
But he soon had helicopter and motorcycle crews hot on his trail who were tracking the stolen phone's signal as he tore across central London, locating him close to Marble Arch.
Helicopter footage captured him tearing dangerously through Piccadilly Circus and down Haymarket - home to His Majesty's Theatre - towards Trafalgar Square, shortly after 5pm.
'And he's now towards Leicester Square,' a helicopter crewman can be heard telling pursuing cops via radio.
'It's high risk, through pedestrians, towards Trafalgar Square.'
He is then seen recklessly riding along the central reservation of Waterloo Bridge, trapped behind a bus, before cutting across its path as he tries to make his escape.
'Marked solos (police motorcycles), he's just behind that bus now in the central reservation,' the helicopter crewman says.
Bodycam footage from motorcycle officers shows how they attempt to rout him as he cuts through streets south of the river.
Glancing over his shoulder at the motorbike pursuing him, he runs a red light on Blackfriars Road as he turns onto Webber Street, close to a pedestrian.
From above, the helicopter continues to follow the pursuit as the suspect rides at high speed into the path of an oncoming car.
Three motorcycles are on his tail, and one draws alongside as he passes under a bridge before pulling in front of him.
Realising the game is up, the alleged thief leaps from the e-bike and hurls himself to the ground, palms flat.
The officers are off their bikes in seconds to cuff him and take him in, ripping off his balaclava in the process.
The intense five-mile pursuit took place on April 18 and lasted all of 14 minutes before the biker was caught.
A 36-year-old man was charged the next day and has since appeared in court, where he was remanded in custody ahead of his next appearance.
In a statement, the force said: 'Terry Ingles, 36, of Islington, was charged on Saturday, 19 April with dangerous driving, driving without insurance, assault, robbery and possession of a class B drug.
'He appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on Monday, 21 April and was remanded in custody. We await the next court date.'
Earlier this week, top Met officers told MPs that 80,000 smartphones were reported stolen in London last year, up from 64,000 in 2023 - many swiped by gangs on bikes who would steal 10 to 20 devices at a time.
Darren Scates, the force's chief data, digital and technology officer, said phone thieves were part of an 'organised criminal enterprise' that saw roughly three quarters of stolen devices sent abroad.
China and Albania were the most common destinations for swiped phones, though some change hands for between £3-400.
James Conway, the Met Police's lead on phone theft, said the scale of phone theft in London last year had a street value of around £20million.
But the replacement value of stolen phones for members of the public and insurance companies was estimated at £50million last year.
'Around half of the robberies in London are mobile it's driving our robbery problem,' he added.
However, DCS Conway said tough enforcement action appeared to be encouraging a decline in offences.
'In the first couple of months of this financial year (there has been) around a 50 per cent reduction in theft,' he said.
'And around a 13 per cent reduction in robbery when we compare to the opening months of the previous financial year.'
The same hearing saw Apple and Google executives accused of 'dragging their feet' over the issue of blocking stolen phones from being used by former Home Office minister Kit Malthouse.
MPs had suggested linking the IMEIs of stolen handsets - their unique identifiers - to iCloud and Google services so that they would be disabled if they were linked to a stolen phone, making the devices all-but-useless.
Mr Malthouse accused them of failing to act because of the 'strong commercial incentive' of getting people to buy replacement iPhone and Android handsets. Both denied this was the case.
Gary Davis, Apple's global senior director of law enforcement, said: 'I deny a suggestion that we must somehow benefit from our users suffering the traumatic event of having their phones stolen and being disconnected from their lives.'
Google's Simon Wingrove echoed concerns, saying the company needed to decide as an industry whether the move was 'safe and sensible' – but stopped short of any commitment.
