Woman recovers phone stolen in broad daylight after chasing down brazen thief

This is the moment a woman chased down a thief after her phone was snatched from her hand while vlogging in broad daylight.

Sophie Hockings, 28, was vlogging on a street in London's Highbury and Islington when a masked thief snatched her phone.

A video shows Sophie recording and speaking into the camera when suddenly a man snatched the phone off her hand.

Instinctively, Sophie chased him down as he rode away on a BMX bicycle.

Sophie can be heard boldly chasing after the phone snatcher and shouting at him before he throws the phone back.

The incident took place on March 27th on a private street near Highbury Fields.

She said that the person who snatched her phone seemed very young and was wearing an N95 mask and gloves.

Sophie, who works in PR, said: "He looked really skinny, around 18, he was wearing a mask and gloves so I didn't see his face.

"He looked really shocked. The video was still going so he would have seen his own face. I think he thought he was on video."

She has had her phone stolen once before in Highbury Fields several years ago, but recovered it then as well.

She says that it's widely accepted among locals in the area that phone thefts are a growing problem.

She has had several close friends who had their phones stolen in a similar way.

Sophie said: "It's a really common crime in the area. It happened to me once before in Highbury fields.

"I have four-to-five friends who've had their phones stolen like that. It's becoming a really common thing nowadays.

"I even had local cafés commenting saying that they see this happen all the time."

Despite having recovered her phone, the incident left Sophie shaken.

She said: "It really scared me. I left London for a while after, to be honest.

"It's horrendous that we have to go out in London and expect that to happen."