CCTV video of thief stealing boy's bike goes viral - watch it here

CCTV footage of a man stealing a boy’s bike in south east London has gone viral after it was posted online.

A post of the video of the theft from outside a shop in Bexley High Street has been retweeted more than 1,500 times since it was put on Twitter yesterday.

Please retweet this video footage + catch this man stealing my friends little boys bike in #bexley #kent Appreciated! pic.twitter.com/boVDITGwSj

— Steve Sallis (@stevensallis) September 28, 2015

A 12-year-old boy had locked up the Carrera Vengeance bike, which belongs to his older brother, outside a shop while he had a haircut on Saturday.

Their father, assistant head teacher Keith Powell, spoke to the shop owners and was able to secure the CCTV footage, which was posted to Twitter by family friend Steven Sallis.

“The man was walking around, stalking the area for five or 10 minutes,” said Mr Powell.

“He took out his cutters from his back pocket, snapped the lock chain and then took off at exactly 12.13pm.

“Thankfully, in the footage you can see his face, so I’m hoping someone recognises him.”

He added: “My son was pretty shocked. He was even scared telling his mum and I because he thought he’d get told off.

“My kids have grown up on Bexley High Street and this crime has happened right on their doorstep.

“I was shocked too, not just with the theft, but how blatant it was in broad daylight – he didn't have a care in the world.”

Police were alerted to the tweet and are investigating.

It’s not the first time a cycling-related video filmed in Bexley Village has gone viral.

In 2011, a YouTube video of a cyclist being assaulted by the occupant of a vehicle was picked up the national press after the victim, Simon Page, approached road.cc to help try and track down the attacker.

The perpetrator, John Nicholls, subsequently turned himself in at a south east London police station and later pleaded guilty to common assault.

– Bexley video attacker sentenced