Stop thief! Passersby step in to thwart robbery of a bicycle in Las Palmas

It is broad daylight on Venegas street in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. A man takes out his tools and snaps the lock of a bicycle parked on the pavement and tries to make off with it. But he hasn’t reckoned with a group of around five conscientious passersby who don’t hesitate to challenge him.

The thief tries to make a break for it on the bicycle but his path is blocked. So he abandons his booty and flees the scene of the crime.

Four minors have been arrested for the theft of three bicycles in Barrionuevo, Santa Cruz, #Tenerife. They tried to sell them on Internet. @policia

These images were taken by a witness who wishes to remain anonymous, according to a story filed by Laura Castilllo, a journalist with Canarias En Hora, a local news site that passed the video onto EL PAÍS.

At the time of the video’s release last week no one had reported the incident, which means the National Police had no knowledge of it when inquiries were made. Although as the above tweet shows, they were alerted to a number of bike thefts the day before in the same area – crimes involving four minors who were arrested in Barrionuevo, Santa Cruz, Tenerife, for trying to sell the stolen bicycles on the internet.

English version by Heather Galloway.