Blind News Correspondent Fights off Mugger

By Daniel S. Levine

Blind BBC News correspondent Sean Dilley fought off a mugger who tried to steal his phone outside the New Broadcasting House in London. Dilley was on a break during his night shift Tuesday when a person riding a bike snatched the phone out of his hand. The journalist chased the man down, tackled him, and recovered his phone.

Early Tuesday morning, Dilley tweeted a picture of his leg with a cut under his knee. "A man on a bike just SNATCHED and stole my iPhone from my hand," Dilley wrote. "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 follow-up tweet, Dilley noted that the robbery "was complete," since the thief made off with his phone. "I gave immediate chase. And recovered it after the robbery," Dilley wrote. Dilley managed to detain the thief and called the police using his phone, notes BBC News.

While he waited for the police, another person arrived to help. While the robber continued struggling, Dilley told the thief he would let him go if they left the scene immediately. By the time three officers arrived, the robber fled. The witness told police the robbery ran off towards Greenwell Street.

In other tweets, Dilley said he would not advise others to react as he did. He called his actions "stupid" and hoped he may have influenced the robber "into reconsidering his career choices." In another message, he reminded followers that no property is "worth risking your life for."

A member of the public can try to make an arrest if they suspect a serious criminal act is in progress and they plan to turn the suspect over to officials. Dilley tweeted that he was unable to keep the suspect detained while waiting for police to arrive. He explained that releasing the suspect helped "minimize the risk." Metropolitan Police are investigating the incident and asked anyone with information to call 101 quoting CAD 1115/27Dec.

Dilley is a longtime BBC News correspondent and the project lead for the BBC's Reframing Disability Programme. Just before Christmas, he contributed to a report on a food bank in Kidlington, Oxfordshire.  

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