An unfortunate woman has allegedly had her phone stolen by a group of youngsters who had originally helped her retrieve it from train tracks at Ilford station in East London
A group of youngsters have been caught stealing a woman’s phone after initially helping her to retrieve it from train tracks. Footage shows two members of the group climbing down from the platform to help a woman who had dropped her phone onto the track at Ilford station in East London.
They were seen successfully grabbing the phone before walking off with it all while the helpless victim watched on. Police were called to reports of an incident at around 6.40pm on September 22.
The shocking video captures the woman looking distressed after her phone fell onto the tracks. As she looks around for help, two young men can be seen quickly dropping down to pick it up.
Fellow passengers are heard shouting in the background: “Does he not realise it’s electrified?”
The woman then goes up to the pair to retrieve her phone, but instead of giving it back, they walk away.
Station staff then step in to try to stop the bogus good Samaritans from leaving. Seconds later, however, one of them throws the phone over the fence to an accomplice, who makes off with it.
They attempted to chase down the thieves but it remains unclear if the phone was recovered. Officers said a group of youths had bumped into her, causing her to drop her phone which then fell onto the tracks.
They have since appealed for anyone with information to come forward. Witnesses should text BTP on 61016 using reference 22 September.
The follows the news that phone thefts across the UK have fallen by a third in the first quarter of the year. In the past three months alone officers have seized more than 3,000 stolen handsets worth up to £4 million.
Police were hit with a surge of phone thefts carried out by criminals on high-powered e-bikes who snatched devices straight from pedestrians’ hands in central London.
The phones are often deactivated in Europe then shipped abroad to China or Africa where they were restored to use and sold. Each handset can fetch up to £150.
Det Chief Supt Mandy Horsburgh, of City Of London Police, said: “We’re making it hostile for the criminals in lots of different ways. We make arrests, we disrupt, we put officers on the ground, we cut off the supply routes.
“We know the public want to see people arrested, they want to get their phones back, and of course we want to stop the thefts happening in the first place. This work is constant and we will not give up.”
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