WATCH as a pair of would-be motorbike thieves were stopped in their tracks by a man fending them off with a two-footed attack.
The bizarre defensive move was captured in Chapelizod, Dublin, by a passing motorist on Saturday.
The criminal duo was fended off by the bloke launching himself at them from atop a set of steps, before clattering one of them with their own angle grinder.
The video filmed by the passerby shows the motorbike parked outside a residential building on a main road.
Two figures wearing balaclavas can be seen crouched next to it, with another two further up the road.
One repeatedly hits the back end of the bike with a hammer, while the other uses an angle grinder at the front.
Suddenly, a bloke in a green tracksuit appears on the stairs leading up to a door on the front of the building, and leaps towards them.
He lands in a sprawling heap right on top of the thief with the angle grinder, knocking the tool flying.
The filming driver can be heard saying, “Ooh”, as if wincing in pain.
The hammer-wielding man runs off as his mate tries to get to his feet but is a fraction of a second too slow.
With some quick thinking, the tracksuit-wearing hero snatches up the fallen angle grinder and delivers a sharp smack to the retreating man’s back.
He jumps in the air as he beats a hasty retreat with his other two pals, as the valiant man begins to chase after them.
The driver lets out another mock expression of pain before he bursts out laughing at the scene unfolding.
The clip was shared to social media on Saturday and has since received over 8,500 likes and more than 410 comments from many applauding the bloke’s actions.
One wrote: “Good to see them get a bit of their own medicine.
“The theft of motorcycles is getting absolutely ridiculous at this point and we’re all paying for it through increased insurance premiums.”
Another commented: “A thing of beauty and a joy to behold. Well played that green tracksuited hero!”
A third said: “Fantastic manoeuvre. Perfectly executed with the element of surprise. 10/10”
Another joked: “Next Olympics long jump gold sorted.”
A fifth quipped: “Yer (sic) don’t mess with man’s second-best friend- his bike or car.”
