Shocking CCTV shows moment brazen ‘thief’ allegedly distracts diners before ‘swiping phone’ from their table

Shocking CCTV shows the moment a man allegedly walked into a restaurant and distracted diners before swiping a phone from their table.

In the footage, the man appears to distract the diner with a piece of paper before taking the phone from underneath it - all directly under the customer’s nose.

The incident happened at Adana Turkish with Fusion in Bethnal Green, east London. The restaurant shared the footage on social media just before 10pm on August 26 along with a warning to diners.

The Instagram story read: "Last night a man came into our restaurant and stole a customer's phone. He distracted the customer with a piece of paper which read something along the lines of he needs help etc. He had a car waiting outside and as soon as he exited the shop, he got in the car and drove off. 

"This was fully organised and they must be doing it regularly. Please be vigilant and mindful of your belongings and please share with friends and family."

The Metropolitan Police said it had so far not received any reports of an incident at the restaurant.