Cyclist punched by ‘vicious’ thieves as he stops them stealing his bike

'No one should ever be scared to cycle or walk our streets and disgusting attacks like this will not ever be tolerated', police say

The moment a man was violently attacked in broad daylight while successfully stopping the theft of his bicycle was caught on camera.

Taken in Manchester, the footage shows a hooded thief and an accomplice nearby trying to snatch the mountain bike, while the owner desperately clings on.

Another man in a suit and tie attempted to intervene with a furled umbrella, but it was not enough to prevent the attack.

The attacker hit the man hard in the face as he holds onto the frame of his bike and then kicked him as he falls to the ground during the struggle.

With the owner still managing to hold onto the bike despite having been brought to the ground, the would-be thief gives up and jogs away.

One of the attackers then doubles back to retrieve another bike that had been abandoned on the pavement, while the person filming the footage appears to ask them if they’re going to “say sorry”.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said they were “investigating after a video of a man being punched during a robbery in Manchester City Centre surfaced online.”

The man clings to his bike despite being punched in the face (UK Motorcycle Theft Protest)

Both men were described as black and aged between 15 and 20.

The bike will be recovered for forensic examination and the video footage is being downloaded to use as evidence and identify the robbers, the force said.

GMP’s Manchester city centre chief inspector Cherie Buttle said: “This was a violent, vicious and shameless robbery that took place on one of the city centre’s biggest and busiest roads

“An innocent man was apprehended and attacked senselessly all for his bike. No one should ever be scared to cycle or walk our streets and disgusting attacks like this will not ever be tolerated. We are making contact with the victim and we are carrying out lots of work to identify the mindless men who did this.

“Unfortunately, the person who filmed the incident is yet to come forward to police and I would personally urge them to contact us immediately as they were a key witness and could hold vital information. I would also urge anyone else who recognises the men in the footage, or who saw something, to get in touch.”

Anyone with information should call the police on 0161 856 6322, quoting incident number 1875 of 4 September 2018, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.