Video shows cyclist fighting off would-be robbers

A video has gone viral of the moment a man fought off a group of men on motorbikes after falling from his electric bike.

Rafal Kalinowski, 59, was riding along Bromford Lane, West Bromwich, on his way to work when a group pulled up alongside him, one of whom appeared to be brandishing a hammer.

After falling from the bike, Mr Kalinowski sprang up and sprayed them with a red criminal identifier gel before they fled the scene empty-handed.

West Midlands Police said three men and a teenage boy, from Sandwell, were arrested on suspicion of assault with attempt to commit robbery and later released on bail.

Rafal Kalinowski sprayed the masked suspects with criminal identifier gel after falling from his bike

“The day after my emotions were up and down but when I was in the moment I wasn’t scared, my mind was like a computer,” Mr Kalinowski told the BBC.

The warehouse operative uses his helmet camera every day when he cycles to work.

He had bought the spray online as a safety precaution and kept it strapped to his backpack as he rides.

“I have carried it for three years and almost forgot about it," he explained.

"I managed to mark one or two of them and the next day I reported it to the police.”

The ordeal, which happened at about 16:00 BST on 7 August, was captured by his helmet camera and posted on TikTok and YouTube.

Series of robberies

It has now been viewed more than 40,000 times and amassed hundreds of comments from well-wishers praising Mr Kalinowski's bravery.

The self-proclaimed workaholic has not been put off by the attack and continues to ride his bike to work.

The suspects - two 20-year-old men, an 18-year-old man and a boy, 17 - have since been arrested in connection with a series of robberies and vehicle crimes.

On the same day at Mr Kalinowski's incident, a scooter was stolen in Dewberry Drive from a man in his 30s by a group of men, also riding scooters.

A motorbike was also stolen from Burnt Tree in Tipton and an attempt was made to steal a moped on Bromford Lane, West Bromwich.

The following day, on West Bromwich Ringway, a man in his 30s was threatened with a knife by a group of men and his electric bike and mobile phone were stolen.

Suspects were later arrested on suspicion of attempted theft of a motor vehicle, theft of a motor vehicle and two counts of robbery in the Wednesbury area after officers received reports of four men loading a bike into a taxi.