FOUR males have been arrested in connection with an attempted robbery that saw one brave cyclist fend off a gang of thieves attempting to steal his e-bike.
The cyclist was riding along Bromford Lane in West Bromwich, West Midlands when he was boxed in by masked assailants on mopeds, who quickly overwhelmed him and pushed him to the pavement.
However, the bloke came prepared and fought off his attackers with just a can of red self defence spray, successfully defending himself and his e-bike.
Four males aged between 17 and 20 have since been arrested in connection with the attempted robbery amid a slew of vehicle crime offences and robberies in the area.
Footage from a camera worn by the cyclist shows him riding up the cycle lane when three scooters, each carrying two people, quickly zoom up behind him.
One of the attempted thieves, appearing to wield a hammer, then reaches from the back of the scooter and shoves the cyclist to the ground.
The riders all come to a stop, with two hopping off their scooters to grab the e-bike as one shouts: “Get off the bike.”
However, the cyclist scrambles up from the ground and instead of handing his transport over, whips out a small canister which he points at the gang.
The cowardly attackers quickly have a change of heart and split up to make their getaways as the cyclist sprays a red mist at them from the can – which appears to be the criminal identifying spray Farb-Gel.
The gang scatter and take off empty-handed as the brave cyclist collects his bearings having successfully fended off the would-be robbers.
Four arrests linked to the incident as well as several other robberies have since been made with two men, both 20, and two teens, 18 and 17, being cuffed.
Aside from the attempted e-bike theft, the group also robbed a man in his 30s, stole a motorbike in Tipton, West Midlands and threatened a man at knife-point before making off with his phone and e-bike.
The footage of the attempted theft was shared to social media yesterday with the caption: “This happened a week ago, a gang of motorbikes trying to steal a man’s bike in West Bromwich.”
It has since received over 1,000 likes and more than 60 comments from social media users offering their reactions to the scene.
One said: “The fact he had that can shows it’s not the first time this has happened.”
Another commented: “Hopefully idiots don’t start randomly spraying the public with Farb-Gel.”
A third wrote: “People would resort to self-help if the government doesn’t tackle these ‘little’ crimes.”
A fourth joked: “Ah, just some suburban Mad Max stuff. Aren’t things great?”
Another added: “Scums of the streets.”
On Friday, a spokesperson from West Midlands Police said: “Last night, officers were patrolling the Wednesbury area when they received reports of four men loading a bike into a taxi.
“We quickly responded and arrested the four occupants and recovered the bike which is believed to be stolen.
“Two 20-year-old men, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy from Sandwell have been arrested in connection with the recent incidents and remain in custody for questioning.”
