Moped thug uses hammer to try to steal motorbike in Birmingham city centre

A would-be thief who desperately attacked a motorcycle with a hammer has been caught on camera in the act.

Shocking footage shows the thug – part of a three-man moped gang – repeatedly smashing the bike’s lock with the blunt weapon in Birmingham city centre.

Filmed on a busy city street in the middle of the afternoon, several shoppers pass by – but seem unconcerned by the crime happening right in front of their eyes.

As the thug strikes the disc lock six times outside Fair Deal Music on Smallbrook Queensway, in Birmingham, taxis drive on and a family seem to edge away from the offender.

After looking back at two accomplices – who are waiting on motorbikes – he then continues to hit the lock a further four times.

But one witness, walking close to the parking bay, spots the crook and watches his every move.

Panicking, the thief then hops onto the back of his accomplice’s bike and they flee the scene.

Although the bike was not stolen in the botched robbery on Monday, June 4, the devastated victim says the incident caused ‘a lot of grief’.

As the thief strikes the lock six times outside Fair Deal Music on Smallbrook Queensway, taxis drive on and a family seem to edge away from the offender. (One of his accomplices can be seen on the blue bike to his right)

Liz Dziergas, who lives in Edgbaston, said: ‘What worries me is that they carry weapons, and the general public is scared to stop them.

‘They truly think that they are above the law, untouchable, and are not afraid to do it in daylight in front of [people] on a busy city centre road.

‘Locking your bike and covering it won’t cut it anymore. If they want it, they will take it.

‘This is how I commute to work – my only means of transport all year round for the last six years. It has caused me a lot of grief and two days off the road to have the bike repaired to be able to travel again.’

But the rider said she would not be put off.

‘I look over my shoulder every time I park my bike. But I need to get to work and I do have trust in my motorbike fellow riders to help me if they are around and trouble starts.

‘No mob is going to scare me out of our city centre. That’s where I work, socialise, meet friends, network and eat. I am not scared of their tactics. Life is for living – not hiding from terror.’

Despite several witnesses walking by as the incident took place, West Midlands Police say there were no reports of an attempted theft.

And the worrying news comes just months after thieves savagely attacked a scooter rider in the exact same spot.

Father-of-two Wayne Merrick was pushed from his bike and violently ‘pummeled’ from behind outside Fair Deal Music – where he had parked up to buy a Valentine’s gift for his wife.

As he returned from the Bullring Shopping Centre, two thugs launched a brutal attack in a bid to steal his ten-year-old Suzuki Burgman 400.

He was forcibly bundled from his bike and then beaten by the men – one in a crash helmet and the other, a balaclava.

Shaken by the daytime assault, the 50-year-old said he lay on the ground ‘waiting for a knife to go in’.

Mr Merrick, from Aldridge, told BirminghamLive: ‘I was waiting for a bus to pass, when all of a sudden and with incredible force, I was knocked off the bike from behind by two males.

‘One sat on my back pummeling me, before attempting to rip my helmet off.

‘Throughout the attack I was just lying there, waiting for a knife to go in.

‘But they both climbed onto the bike, and although I managed to get a good push in they still sped away towards Bristol Street.’

Mr Merrick – who works at a second branch of Fair Deal Music – said he was left ‘quaking’ after the attack.

And he said Smallbrook Queensway was a known hotspot for motorcycle thefts, having witnessed several.

‘I used to work at our Smallbrook Queensway branch [of Fair Deal Music] and bike thefts were a regular occurrence – my colleagues and I witnessed a few.

‘Unfortunately there is no CCTV covering the bike parking bay.’