Shocking moment moped thieves grab City businessman's mobile phone as he walks along pavement in the Square Mile

The thief pulls up alongside him and snatches his phone. Police are now trying to tackle these 'largely preventable' crimes

A pair of moped thieves snatched a City businessman's mobile phone in the Square Mile - demonstrating the speed at which crimes can happen.

The smartly dressed man is walking through the centre of London in broad daylight when the thieves pulls up alongside him and snatch his phone.

Officers visited shops and cafes yesterday to speaking to citizens yesterday, in a bid to tackle what is turning into an epidemic.More than 100 reports of phone thefts were reported between December 2016 and February 2017, equating to more than £50,000 worth of losses.

Police warn checking the news in the street or even replying to a message could result in a phone being stolen in seconds.

Detective Inspector Mark Chapman said: 'The crime that we see in the City is largely preventable. Opportunist thieves strike when they see an unsecured bike, unattended laptops in a bar or by tailgating their way into your office.

'If you visit our new website you will see CCTV of wallets being stolen, phones snatched from victim's hands and bike locks being broken in seconds.

The smartly dressed man is walking through the centre of London in broad daylight

'These are all real situations that could result is a good time turning sour when you find that your cab fare home or your laptop is gone.

'The CCTV on our new website shows just how quickly thieves can strike. Hopefully, by following our advice and making small changes we can seriously limit the opportunity for thieves to strike.'

But it is just the latest in a spate of similar crimes to plague the capital's streets.

Members of the public fought back as two armed moped riders wielding a hammer and an angle grinder allegedly attempted to steal a parked scooter.