Moment hero martial arts champion tackles ‘pickpocket armed with claw hammer’ on the Tube
A suspected pickpocket was tackled by a martial arts champion in dramatic scenes on the London Underground.
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Croatian MMA fighter Ivan Skoko, 29, who won gold at the London Fall International Open IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship this year put his skills to good use when he wrestled an alleged thief who had targeted a woman at Borough station this week.
The 6ft3 black belt fighter was travelling on the Tube from Fight City gym in Elephant and Castle to a training session in Hackney when he heard a scream.
He told the Standard: “ I just heard a very loud scream. I thought someone got hit by a train or stabbed.
““I asked them very clearly, ‘What happened? Are you OK?’ And one woman said, ‘Oh, this guy tried to rob my phone. Straight away I took him down.”
Mr Skoko claimed the man tried to take ‘some sort of weapon’ from his pocket but he took him down using a leg sweep to floor him, before holding him on the ground for 25 minutes while police arrived.
Video footage posted online shows Mr Skoko restraining the alleged thief who shouts out the incident was “an accident.”
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It later emerged the suspected thief was carrying a claw hammer.
He added: “These criminals always choose vulnerable victims, which are mainly girls, students or very skinny, small people.
“They only get a couple of months behind bars or public service. In my view, they have to be jailed for at least 5 to 6 years so they can think about their mistakes and the career choices they make.”
A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “Officers were called to Borough Underground station at around 7.30pm on October 28 following reports of an attempted theft.
“Officers attended and a man was arrested on suspicion of theft, possession of an offensive weapon, and handling stolen goods.
“Enquiries are ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 661 of 28 October.”