A man's attempt to steal £1,600 worth of mobile phones from a Yorkshire shop has been foiled by the owner’s quick thinking. The man tried to steal from the Phone Market shop in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on Sunday (4).
However, he discovered that the door was locked by the staff from behind the counter and he couldn't escape. Eventually, the thief returned the phones and begged the shopkeeper to let him go.
Although owner Afzal Adam, 52, reported the incident to the police, he said that it was not a priority as nothing was stolen.
“He would have gotten away with £1,600 worth of merchandise... the mechanism has paid for itself,” he is reported to have said.
The entire episode was captured on CCTV in the shop. It revealed that he initially pretended to be a customer, coming in wearing a light blue hoodie, black jacket and Nike trainers.
The shopkeeper behind the counter handed the man two iPhones when he booked it to the door. But staff had remotely locked the doors after he entered.
Upon realising he was trapped, the man began swearing and claimed it was his friend's idea.
According to reports, the owner installed a mechanism that allowed staff to lock the doors from behind the counter in 2020.
"With people wearing masks and balaclavas, I was worried about not being able to identify anyone if they did steal from my store. He would have gotten away with £1,600 worth of merchandise, so the mechanism has paid for itself!," Adam was quoted as saying by Metro.co.uk.
Since it was his first such experience, he sent the CCTV footage to his family's WhatsApp group where it was posted to Facebook.
Later, the video was uploaded to TikTok where the clip went viral, with 4.4m views. Adam told media that he was moved by the response as majority of the viewers praised his 'forgiveness'.
He said: "Some people have been asking ‘Why didn’t you beat him up?’, but we would never do that. I hope I have showed people what humanity is - there’s more to the story than this and if we had acted out. It would just have been another story of violence."
"Times are difficult for many of us at the moment, so if you are struggling to put food on the table, please come and visit us in store to see how we can help."
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)