Jeremy Vine reveals narrow escape from suspected thief brandishing 'brick'

Watch: Jeremy Vine reveals narrow escape from suspected thief brandishing 'brick'

Jeremy Vine has revealed he was approached by a man brandishing what appeared to be a brick who he suspected of planning to mug him.

The TV and radio presenter shared video on social media of the incident at a traffic lights while he cycled through London, revealing he believed his helmet camera had saved from an attack.

Vine, 57, said on BBC Radio 2: "I was standing at some traffic lights and looking back I think he was about hit me with a brick. He was holding a brick. And I think he then saw this massive camera I was wearing on my cycle helmet and decided he'd have a different victim today."

Sharing the video on Twitter he joked: "Question. Is it ever acceptable to think 'this guy is behaving suspiciously' if there's no evidence whatsoever of him doing anything criminal at all? I'm struggling with this one. I guess the greaseproof paper was wrapping a piece of cake."

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The Jeremy Vine On 5 host added: "Consensus — he is carrying a brick in his right hand; he is going to hit me and take all my stuff. He is pretending to be on the phone. He sees the magnificent camera and changes his plan.

"*NOTE: If you are the gent and I've got this wrong, let me know."

In the video clip as Vine's bicycle comes to a halt at traffic lights a man in a hooded coat runs towards him carrying what looks like a brick wrapped in paper.

But when he realises the BBC Radio 2 DJ has a camera on his cycling helmet he quickly puts his phone to his ear with his free hand and turns his head, obscuring his face.

He then moves into the road dodging moving traffic. When pursued by Vine on the bicycle the man runs away, hiding behind a closed ice cream stand and then jumping over a fence to escape into a park.

Vine asked his listeners to phone in to his radio show to discuss their views on sharing videos of 'suspicious behaviour' on social media.

He said: "The question is if you post this and say is this person up to no good, in some way you're impugning them unfairly because was a crime committed, no?"

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Several of his followers who claimed to be police officers commented that the man's behaviour would warrant officers to stop and search him, based on the suspected weapon, using the hood to hide his face when the weather was fine and jumping over the fence.