Moment brave Deliveroo rider chases London Lime Bike thief who had grabbed Brazilian tourist's phone - and then denounces him as 'a heartless scumbag'

Published: 00:30 GMT, 8 November 2026 | Updated: 01:02 GMT, 8 November 2026

This is the moment a brave Deliveroo rider chased a 'scumbag' Lime Bike thief who snatched a Brazilian tourist's phone.

Milo Sterlini rushed after the phone thief on his motorbike during a routine delivery shift at around 8pm in Borough, central London, on November 1.

Video footage of the theft, shared on his YouTube channel, London Eats, showed the woman in her 20s running down the street after the thief shrieking 'no, no, no, please'.

Mr Sterlini quickly took off in pursuit of the crook and shouted at him to drop the phone to which the man brazenly replied: 'Nah bro I've gotta make money.'

Fearing for his safety, the food delivery driver decided to stop chasing the thief because 'nine times out of ten, they are carrying a knife'.

He then called the police and comforted the distraught tourist who was in tears saying: 'I don't have anything.'

After speaking with officers responding to the theft, Mr Sterlini made an impassioned speech to his 356,000 subscribers demanding the crook be brought to justice.

'I'm hoping he does get caught because it's the lowest of the low crime,' he said. 

A brave Deliveroo driver chased a London Lime Bike thief who grabbed a Brazilian tourist's phone

Milo Sterlini rushed after the phone thief on his motorbike at around 8pm on November 1

Mr Sterlini quickly took off in pursuit of the crook and shouted at him to drop the phone

'Put gender aside it is just the lowest of the low crime and to do it to a tourist that has never been here before, someone that is vulnerable, it is so bad.

'I hope scumbags like that do get the full force of the law thrown at them,' he said.  'That is scumbag behaviour right there.'

Despite this no suspect was found and the case has since been closed, the Met said.

Anyone with any information that could help police have been urged to contact the force.

Mr Sterlini added that there is no excuse for stealing someone's phone off them in the street.  

'Do what I'm doing, get out in the freezing cold and deliver some food and earn some money. But no, you want to do that heartless scumbag crime of snatching someone's phone and selling it for £100.'

He also spoke of the victim's distress explaining that she was due to fly back home to Brazil the following day.

'The poor girl, she's got all of that stress to deal with,' he said. 'Imagine that is her first impression of London. She's probably never going to come back because of it.' 

Viewers were quick to praise the delivery driver's handling of the theft and decision to stop chasing.

One supporter commented: 'Absolute legend for chasing the phone snatcher down and helping that lady.'

Another said: 'Total respect for going after the fella and well done for being sensible and not carrying on in case he was tooled up, as you say, get out in a bike and earn a living, not nicking phones!'

While a third commented: 'You handled it really well mate, you tried to stop him sensibly and didn't put yourself in danger. Good lad for comforting and helping the lady as well.'

It is unclear if the thief was caught but Mr Sterlini said the man had been seen running into a property. 

A Met Police spokesman said: 'Police were called at 20.06hrs on Sunday, 1 November following a report that a woman in her 20s had her phone stolen on Little Dorrit Court, Southwark.

'Officers carried out enquiries including speaking to witnesses and gathering video and CCTV footage. No suspect was identified and the case has since been closed.

'We know how distressing it is to have your phone stolen and the Met is working relentlessly to drive down phone theft offences across London. 

'By targeting every stage of the organised criminal chain, theft and robbery offences have fallen to their lowest level in four years.

'Anyone with information that could help police should call 101 quoting CAD 6505/1Nov.'