Video: Would-be thief tries to snatch bike from moving car in South London

A would-be bike thief in London was filmed this weekend in one of the most brazen attempts we’ve ever seen to steal a bicycle – given it was attached to a moving car.

The attempted theft happened on Sunday afternoon on Tower Bridge Road, with the bike’s owner, Musa, being given a lift home by his girlfriend Chloe after taking part in the London Revolution, reports Mail Online.

The thief, himself riding a bike, twice loosens the fastenings securing the Mekk Primo bike to the car’s rear rack.

Chloe told the newspaper: “Musa is doing the London Revolution bike ride this weekend, so he'd just finished 80 odd miles that day.

“I picked him up from Lee Valley and we were driving down Tower Bridge Road.

'There were quite a lot of traffic lights so we kept stopping and starting.

“When I noticed a guy cycling along behind me, I thought he was a bit close to the back of the car.

“But I just thought he was being silly - because if I had to brake, then he was going to hit me.

“I thought: well he can do what he likes - he's only putting himself in danger.

“The next thing I knew, we were at the last set of lights before you accelerate onto the dual carriageway, and I heard a beep from the car behind us.

“As I looked into my rear view mirror, that's when I saw the cyclist twiddling the top fastening of the bike. Just then, the light went green so I started to accelerate.

“From what I could see, the bike was still attached - so I decided to carry on because I knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with the car.”

The man dropped his own bike and ran after the car as it approached the Old Kent Road roundabout in a final, desperate bid to steal Musa’s Mekk.

“He tried to chase us for quite a while before giving up,” said Chloe. “Then, once we'd got a few hundred yards down the road, I pulled over because I could see the bike was slipping.

“I think he'd been watching from somewhere - probably because he knew there were a lot of traffic lights and I'd probably have to stop,” she continued.

The footage has been sent to the police, and Chloe added: “The focus for us is to try and catch the guy - but we also want to warn other cyclists and car owners to be vigilant.

“Musa has a lot of cycling friends who would be similarly gutted if their racing bikes were to be stolen.”