A suspected shoplifter received instant karma when he was taken down by two police officers on bicycles manufactured by a toy store.
The footage, shared by the Havering branch of the Metropolitan Police, shows the man leaving the Marks & Spencer store in The Liberty Shopping Centre, Romford, east London, with a basket full of seemingly stolen goods.
Wearing a checked blue shirt with denim shorts and white trainers, the suspected thief then appears to notice he is being tailed by one officer and begins running away from them while holding the basket.
Looking to cross the road, the man then runs straight into the path of the other officer, whose oncoming bike he collides with.
Shouts of ‘Alright, mate, stop where you are,’ and ‘Police. Stop where you are now,’ can be heard before he is apprehended, his basket whittling away as he is brought down.
Prior to being caught, CCTV footage in the store, captured at around 1pm on June 10, shows the man packing items such as bacon into his basket.
It is unknown what else he appears to have stolen or the total value of the basket, but alternate angles of him leaving the shop show the basket to be much fuller than just one packet of meat.
Posting the video to X, Havering MPS hailed the apprehension of the man as ‘community policing in action’ which helps ‘keep local people and businesses safe’.
The footage shows the man leaving the Marks & Spencer store with a basket full of seemingly stolen goods
Wearing a checked blue shirt with denim shorts and white trainers, he then appears to notice he is being tailed by one officer and begins running away
Looking to cross the road, the suspected thief then runs straight into the path of the other officer, whose oncoming bike he collides with before being apprehended
They also revealed that the bikes were donated by Romford Business Improvement District (BID) after being built by Smyths Toys.
They said: ‘Romford BID donated the bikes. Smyths Toys built them. We used them to stop shoplifting.’
Last September, officers announced that they would be using the bikes, first manufactured by the toy store, as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour and theft in Romford.
Sgt Aaron Harris, of the Romford Town Centre policing team, said plain-clothed officers using the bikes would increase their chances of stopping crime.
He added: ‘Crime in our town centre will not be tolerated and anyone committing crimes against local people, visitors or business will be seeing us soon.
Prior to being caught by officers, CCTV footage in the store, captured at around 1pm on June 10, shows the man packing items such as bacon into his basket
‘We will continue to use every resource available to us to make Romford town centre unattractive to criminals.’
He also thanked Julie Frost, the director of Romford BID, who said: ‘I truly hope this initiative helps visitors and our community feel safer, knowing that steps are being taken to address anti-social behaviour and prevent crime.
‘By working together with the local police force, we’re committed to restoring confidence and making Romford a welcoming and enjoyable place to live, work, and visit.’
MailOnline has approached the Metropolitan Police and Smyths Toys for more information.
