Afterthe guy filming this video witnessed the person holding the white iPhone from someones bag, his first instinct was clearly to start filming this person in a hope that he can be found.

From Matt Parker’s Blog

gave this man a stern yelling-at. That phone is not his.

Last night I had the misfortune to be on one of the last trains out from London Waterloo, the 00:09 to Guildford. I found a quiet-ish coach and settled in to stop at every station between London and my destination. Plus some other ones I swear only exist when you’re on a night train.

There were the usual fellow passengers, dotted around both the intoxication spectrum and the carriage. So no one took much notice when a rather drunk girl collapsed in a seat for a while and then got up and drifted off, seemingly looking for a toilet. However, she had left her bags behind and never came back for them.

Once we assumed she had alighted from the train, the phone in her bag began ringing incessantly. Assuming it might be her, I eventually answered it and assured a friend of hers that she had been on the train and hopefully got off at the correct stop. I said that if she didn’t come back for her bags, I would hand them in to Guildford Station last-and-found where she could easily collect them.

So I went back to my seat, still many station-stops from Guildford, and resumed my desultory twittering.

One of the other few people in the carriage though, got up and came and sat near the bag. During the casual carriage-banter when I first answered the phone, he had suggested to the whole carriage that we nick the phone. Thus I was already keeping an eye on him when he moved over and then took the phone out of the bag.

I was – to say the minimum – outraged.

So I began initially tell him to put the phone back before escalating to a full yelling-at, during which I had the presence of mind to turn my phone on and video the whole thing. I even asked him first if he minded me photographing him stealing the phone and he was so brazened, he held it up to pose with it. That is the screen-grab at the top of this page.

Spoiler Warning: I’ll post the video soon (although, it does contain a lot of swears: sorry kids) but he did eventually get off at the next stop and leave with the phone.

Naturally, I’ve already re-played the whole thing in my head countless times, but I’m happy that I didn’t resort to physically stopping him, or kicking his bike etc. If someone was defending my lost phone, I wouldn’t want them to risk violence. But I’m kicking myself for not moving sooner or putting the bag somewhere safer. So yeah: lots of yelling, all of it ineffectual.

I did hand the bag in at Guildford, with a note inside explaining what happened and my email address (Always carry a pen kids! (that advice will make up for the swearing)) and today I’ll report it to the Transport Police. I’ve already caused one phone thief to be convicted and sentenced, I’m keen for another.

If you do recognise this dick who would get the last Waterloo to Weybridge train, please get in touch.

Thanks hopefully this person can be caught.