This the astonishing moment a courageous British holidaymaker and his wife grappled with a watch thief in Magaluf after being ambushed from behind.
Footage released today showed the tourists fighting with the criminal as an alleged accomplice on a motorbike watched on from a distance.
The owner is thrown to the ground despite his wife’s attempts to thwart the mugging by grabbing onto the thief’s heels after tripping and lunging through the air.
The robber dashes across the road and out of the scene, pocketing the tourist’s £67,000 watch.
Footage was released by the Civil Guard today following the arrests of the two suspects – two middle-aged Italian men.
The female tourist trips and grabs out at the thief during her fall
At first, the thief (in grey) is seen approaching the couple from behind
The tourist (left) tries to flee as the thief appears to grab at his watch
The couple tussle with the thief as a bystander watches on
The thief is locked into a wrestle with the owner of the watch as his wife tries to break them up
In doorcam footage from near the scene, a frightened local caught up in the drama appears to think for a split-second about going to the aid of the Brit victims before choosing to stay out.
The couple tussle with the thief in the street, appearing to take wild swings before eventually being overpowered.
At one point the watch’s owner falls to the ground as the thief dives in.
Both men scuffle on the floor for several seconds with the witness awkwardly standing to one side.
As the thief breaks free, the tourist’s wife goes to chase him down but trips and falls to the ground.
Personal belongings fall on the floor but the thief takes the opportunity to flee after pulling himself to his feet.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard said as footage was released today: ‘Detectives have arrested two Italian men aged 44 and 57 as the suspected authors of a violent robbery and crime of fraud following a mugging in Magaluf.
‘A British tourist was strolling in the resort with his wife when he was surprised from behind by an individual who pushed him to the ground and then held his arm as he wrenched his watch off his wrist.
‘After a subsequent struggle with the male victim’s wife, he ran to a motorbike ridden by the second suspect which was waiting nearby.’
Confirming the British man had suffered only minor injuries despite the violent attack, the police force added in a statement: ‘The watch stolen was a designer watch worth around 80,000 euros.
‘The suspects abandoned Majorca very soon after their crime and returned to Italy but were identified and arrested after returning to the island and being tracked down.
‘As well as being accused of the robbery they face fraud charges as they used false documentation to hire the motorbike they used to commit the crime.’
The watch owner falls to the floor as the thief dives in. The female tourist stands over them
As he breaks free, she gives chase – but appears to trip over her husband and misses
The thief seizes the opportunity to make a quick exit as the tourists pick themselves up
‘The suspects form part of a gang specialising in this type of crime and are being investigated on suspicion of committing other similar crimes,’ they said.
Police in several parts of Spain have created specialist groups to tackle designer watch muggers, who usually come from Naples in Italy, North Africa or Eastern Europe.
Tennis star Grigor Dimitrov became a victim of the gangs of designer watch muggers targeting Barcelona in April last year.
The 33-year-old Bulgarian had a £62,000 timepiece ripped off his wrist in his car as he returned from training ahead of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell tournament.
It was described at the time as a a Swiss Bianchet watch valued at £62,560.