‘Wrong blind person, wrong day’: Blind BBC reporter apprehends phone thief after mugging attempt

Alleged thief was riding a bike when Sean Dilley leapt at him

BBC News reporter Sean Dilley says he tackled and apprehended a thief following an attempted phone robbery.

Dilley is congenitally blind and uses a guide dog, but was able to “instinctively” leap on the alleged perpetrator after his phone was snatched from his hand.

According to Dilley, the assailant was riding a bike when he grabbed his phone.

“A man on a bike just SNATCHED and stole my iPhone from my hand,” Dilley wrote on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon (27 December). “Wrong blind person wrong day.

“Jumped on him, safely detained and got my phone back. Quite a few cuts and bruises but tweeting on the phone he stole (and I recovered).”

In a series of follow-up tweets, Dilley provided further details about the incident, assuring followers that he was OK but admitting that the manoeuvre was “risky”.

“I took a running jump and dive on the thief and knocked him off his bike and onto the floor,” he explained. “I recover my phone, advised him that he was detained and called @metpoliceuk on 999.

“I did let him go after a few minutes, but only when others arrive to help me.”

Dilley explained that after retrieving his phone and detaining the “gentleman”, he eventually let him go as he “didn’t want to risk injuring him”.

“I am actually quite sore, and obviously I’d advise anyone to physically detain someone is risky and probably not worth it,” he added. “However, I’m so glad I did.”

“I think the gentleman had the shock of his life,” Dilley continued. “That is one iPhone 14 pro that the person who worked very hard to pay for has recovered and I think he’s quite lucky. I do know what I’m doing and I do know the legals. Someone else probably would have reacted more harshly.”

Dilley said that he “strongly” suspects that he was targeted because he is blind.