The men were pinned down by members
of the public after their moped slipped over while turning a corner at
speed in central London.
Praised: Police paid tribute to member of the public who managed to detain two smash and grab suspects
Going nowhere: Heroic members of the public tackle and then pin a suspected armed robber to the groundThe men, one dressed in a burka and the other wearing a motorbike helmet, were held down until armed police arrived soon afterwards and arrested them.
The suspects were
seized about 400 yards from the world-famous Selfridges department
store, a few minutes after cases were smashed on its ground floor at
8.30pm last night.Law student Mohammed Hussein, 29, was today hailed a hero after dashing out of the Italian pizzeria where he works and pinning the suspected thief to the ground until armed police arrived.
Chef Yassin Eleora, 29, who works with Mohammed at ICCo pizzeria, dashed outside after hearing a loud crash.
He said: 'I saw people running into
the road, there was a motorbike lying in the road and two people with
black motorbike helmets were lying nearby. One of them was wearing a
burka.'One of the men got up and began running away up the street but Mohammed ran after him.
Mohammed tried to grab him but the man punched him and started wrestling him trying to get free.
Treatment: Police, medics and passers-by stand
around a man who came off a moped on a street corner in central London
who, along with another man, was apprehended by police shortly after a
raid at Selfridges
Response: The men were pinned down by members of the public after their moped slipped over
'But Mohammed is really strong and he managed to keep hold of him, wrestled him to the floor and pulled his motorbike helmet of.
'He is a big guy, it was unlucky for that man that Mohammed was there.
'He is a real hero - he put himself in danger to stop those guys.
'I
spoke to Mohamed afterwards, he said he wasn't scared. I told him he
could have got hurt but he said instinct just took over.'
Witness Chloe Vaidya, 27, who was with a friend in a nearby pub, said: 'We heard people shouting and running towards the moped.
'One
of the men who was next to the bike looked to have a broken leg.
Further up the street was another man who was being sat on.'
Aftermath: Paramedics treat one of the suspected
robbers, next to a crashed scooter, who took part in a smash and grab
on Selfridges department store in central London
Cordoned off: The men, one wearing a burka and
the other a motorbike helmet, were held down until armed police arrived
soon afterwards and arrested them
Passersby reported seeing two axes
left discarded at the scene soon after the attack, which occurred half
an hour before the Oxford Street store was due to close.
Nobody was hurt in the raid and the police quashed rumours that guns had been fired.Matthew Carrozo, 28, saw the moped fall on the corner of Charlotte Street and Goodge Street.
He said: ‘It just came round the corner and slipped on a drain cover. The guy in the front was wearing a motorcycle helmet and the person on the back was wearing a burka.
Destruction: A man looks at the damage left after an armed robbery at Selfridges on Oxford Street, London
Evidence: A forensic officer photographs the wreckage in Selfridges left after an armed robbery
‘They dropped a duffle bag and six or seven watches fell out - there seemed to be at least 30 more inside.
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