A thief steals a bicycle before leaving with it while a man chases him on foot to try to catch him.

This is the moment a suspected thief stole a bike before taking off as the victim chased him on foot in a desperate attempt to catch him.

In the footage, the thief wearing a high-visibility cap can be seen playing with the lock of a blue mountain bike in a parking lot.

Confronted by a suspicious passerby, the man was questioned whether the bike belonged to him or not, to which he replied that he would have to be taken at his word.

In other CCTV footage of the incident, the alleged thief can be seen exiting the car park onto the street while riding a mountain bike, before another person is seen chasing him on foot.

The incident happened on the evening of Friday October 11 along Wanstead Park Road in east London.

In footage filmed by a passerby, the alleged thief can be seen playing with the lock on a blue ATV.

In dramatic CCTV footage of the incident, the suspected thief is chased on foot down Wanstead Park Road in east London.

In the 12-second video filmed by the affected passerby, a woman can be heard asking the alleged thief what he was doing.

“I was waiting for someone to come down,” he replied.

Digging deeper, the woman then asks, “So how do we know it’s your bike?” »

Responding to questioning, the alleged thief said: “Well, you’re going to have to take my word for it.”

Many Wanstead residents reacted angrily to the images online, as NeedToKnow reported.

“Instead of filming him, grab his bag and hit him over the head with it. Then throw it on the road,” remarked resident Matt Smith.

Echoing the sentiment, a local taxi driver commented on the incident, saying: “Why film it? Hit him in the *******!’

The Metropolitan Police have been contacted for comment on this incident.