London theft CCTV: My phone was stolen by pickpocket from right under my nose while dining at restaurant

Shocking CCTV footage shows the moment a young woman had her phone stolen by a pickpocket while eating at a restaurant.

Isolde Stephens, 21, was having dinner with her cousin at Xian Biang Biang Noodles in Covent Garden, London when a woman wearing a hat and mask approached them. According to Isolde, the woman began asking for food and after pointing to her plate, covered Isolde's phone with a sign and took her phone from the table.

When Isolde couldn’t find her phone, restaurant staff checked the CCTV and showed her what had happened.

Isolde, who was visiting from Amsterdam, Netherlands, said: "I didn't think anything else of it until ten minutes later when I realised my phone was gone. I searched my bags and my pockets and then I remembered her coming over."

“They [the restaurant] said they deal with the woman often and she operates in the area a lot. Once I saw what had happened, I tried running up and down the street to find the woman, but she was nowhere to be seen."

Isolde says she has reported the incident to the police.