Five plain-clothes police officers chased a man down a Bermondsey street this evening, ending with the robbery suspect being tackled onto the ground next to a council estate.
The man was seen sprinting hard into Drummond Road from the Southwark Park Road entrance, pursued by a police van.
Dressed in a red t-shirt and matching red shorts, he turned right and ran down an open space just to the south of Layard Square.
Officers brought the van to a screeching halt, jumped out and ran after him, bringing the suspect down as he got to the back of the estate.
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One of the officers making the arrest told the News that the man was being arrested on suspicion of robbery. A spokesperson for the Met confirmed later he had been arrested on suspicion of robbing a woman of her phone.
A small crowd gathered to watch on Drummond Road.
A spokesperson for the police said: “Police were called to Southwark Park Road, SE16, at 17.22hrs on Thursday, 28 July to reports of a robbery.
“Officers attended. It was reported a mobile phone had been stolen from a woman by a man who had then run off.
“A man was arrested a short time later on suspicion of robbery. He has been taken into custody.”