CCTV shows the moment two phone snatching thieves making their getaway on a moped were karate kicked to the ground and set upon by angry locals.

The two men were riding away after allegedly stealing the handsets from a shopper at a busy market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Wednesday (5/12) morning.

But the victim called for help as the thieves tried to make their getaway, before one have-a-go hero rode into them head-on and stuck out a leg to unbalance them.

A second Good Samaritan then launched a flying Kung Fu kick, followed by another onlooker who kicked the bike, successfully knocking the crooks to the ground.

Furious locals surrounded the men and detained them until police arrived.

Shopkeeper Srey Neat, who witnessed the fracas, said: ''The men returned the phones. They asked to be let go but people were angry and wanted to punish them. Some people were hitting them.''

The incident is the latest in a spate of thefts the Cambodian capital where thieves use motorcycles to snatch people's phones then ride away.

Police said that the two suspects had been detained in custody.

Inspector Sam Nang from the Preaek Pnov district police station said: ''We are interrogating the suspects to find out if they were involved with a larger phone snatching gang. They confessed to stealing the phones and will be appear in court. We are very serious about preventing this crime.''