Moment quick-thinking diner hurls her cafe chair at fleeing bike-riding phone thief sending him flying

By RYAN PROSSER

Published: | Updated:

This is the moment a bike-riding phone thief got his instant comeuppance after a diner hurled a cafe chair at the criminal as he attempted to flee.

The thief had just snatched a phone out of a woman’s hands before he attempted to speed past two diners enjoying breakfast outside a cafe.

But one of the diners, having witnessed the theft, got up and threw her chair at the criminal he was getting away.

Footage shows the cyclist sent flying, smashing into a cafe worker before crashing on the pavement after the being hit by the chair.

A thief received instant karma after a chair was hurled at him after he grabbed a phone from a woman

The criminal was seen cycling past a cafe where diners were enjoying breakfast when one got up and threw their chair at him, sending him flying and crashing on to the pavement

After hitting the floor, the staff member wearing a white apron is seen running over to the thief before kicking him in the bottom.

The stolen phone is shown dropping on to the floor, before its owner recollects it. 

Passers-by are seen gathering around the criminal following his demise. 

The incident was filmed in the city of Resistencia, Chaco in north eastern Argentina.

The phone snatcher was later identified as Mario César Castillo and is aged 36, according to La Nacion.

A 24-year-old woman was the victim of the theft, the newspaper reported.

Castillo was taken by a police officer to a health centre where his wounds were treated, before being handed over to the legal system.

Phone snatching by thieves on cycles has become a pressing issue in cities across the globe.

A man has his phone snatched while walking along Park Lane in London’s plush West End

In London, where the epidemic shows no signs of abating, criminals circle the capital’s exclusive areas on silent e-bikes, before pouncing on victims before they have time to realise what has happened.

Muggers are typically captured seizing devices around the exclusive Mayfair area and along Oxford Street. 

In July, an incident within the Hyde Park hotspot was captured on CCTV footage when an e-bike riding crook in all black crept up behind an unsuspecting man and swiped his phone

In another incident in September, a brazen phone snatcher stole a woman’s mobile in the middle of the day on Oxford Street before calmly taking off.  

It comes as videos have surfaced online of would-be victims beating the phone thieves by snatching the devices back off them or managing to hold on, sending the e-bike gangs on their way empty handed. 

Among those who managed to beat the thieves is presenter Nicky Campbell who nearly had his phone nicked near Oxford Circus

The veteran broadcaster managed to grab his phone back after it was snatched from his hand before shouting ‘f*** you’ at the thief. 

Met Police figures suggest a mobile phone is stolen in the capital every six minutes last year in a seemingly uncontrollable surge. 

Stolen devices are usually sent abroad to be sold, as shown by people on TikTok who share images of the Find My iPhone app showing their Apple devices travelling to far-flung places.

Emma Hall, 44, whose phone was pinched in Leyton High Street in north London, told MailOnline earlier this year how her phone found itself in Shenzhen – the Asian country’s answer to Silicon Valley.

Read More

  • Related Posts

    Eerie moment train is filled with SNOW as historic winter storm cancels another 4,000 flights: Live updates

    By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Updated: 17:11 EDT, 26 January 2026 Winter Storm Fern has claimed the lives of over two dozen people as forecasters warn of another…

    Moment British father tells police he shot his 23-year-old daughter dead in his Texas home

    This is the moment a British father, who had just shot his graduate daughter dead as she visited his Texas home, told police his gun ‘just went off’ as he…

    You Missed

    Amateur footballer, 20, who died from flesh-eating virus could have survived if paramedics had taken him to hospital, coroner rules

    • By poster
    • March 17, 2026
    • 2 views
    Amateur footballer, 20, who died from flesh-eating virus could have survived if paramedics had taken him to hospital, coroner rules

    Prince Harry says British troops who died in Afghanistan deserve ‘respect’ in backlash against Donald Trump’s jibe at UK’s war dead

    • By poster
    • March 17, 2026
    • 2 views
    Prince Harry says British troops who died in Afghanistan deserve ‘respect’ in backlash against Donald Trump’s jibe at UK’s war dead

    ‘Insulting and frankly appalling’: Keir Starmer demands apology from Donald Trump in major transatlantic row over jibe at Britain’s Afghan war dead

    • By poster
    • March 17, 2026
    • 2 views
    ‘Insulting and frankly appalling’: Keir Starmer demands apology from Donald Trump in major transatlantic row over jibe at Britain’s Afghan war dead

    The 12 cities that will see ‘catastrophic’ damage by crippling US winter storm: Live updates

    • By poster
    • March 17, 2026
    • 2 views
    The 12 cities that will see ‘catastrophic’ damage by crippling US winter storm: Live updates

    DJ Fat Tony now reveals Nicola Peltz’s entire family stormed out of wedding after THAT dance and how Victoria Beckham draped her arms around Brooklyn

    • By poster
    • March 17, 2026
    • 2 views
    DJ Fat Tony now reveals Nicola Peltz’s entire family stormed out of wedding after THAT dance and how Victoria Beckham draped her arms around Brooklyn

    Winter Storm Fern death toll rises to 8 as the South is hit with TORNADO warning amid blistering -20F conditions: Live updates

    • By poster
    • March 15, 2026
    • 6 views
    Winter Storm Fern death toll rises to 8 as the South is hit with TORNADO warning amid blistering -20F conditions: Live updates