On screen tough guy, Tom Hardy, has been putting his Hollywood action skills to good use after carrying out a citizen's arrest in Richmond.

The 39-year-old actor and star of Batman and BBC drama Taboo, chased after a suspected thief, who had crashed a stolen moped along with another suspect into a £50,000 Mercedes on the afternoon of Sunday, March 23.

One of the suspects was caught soon after the crash, but the the other fled on foot, pursued by the Hollywood star.

Tom Hardy chased the thief through gardens

Witness, Arun Pullen, told The Sun: "It was mental – like he’d switched to superhero mode in an action movie.

"Two boys on the nicked moped had jumped a red light and smashed into a car.

"Tom must have been walking down the road. He went off like a shot in pursuit and looked furious.

"If the kid had been dumb enough to resist I reckon Tom would have given him a good hiding."

in BBC's Taboo

The actor then reportedly pulled the suspected thief into a bus stop and patted him down for weapons, checked his ID and handed him over to police.

The 22-year-old witness added: "I asked Tom what happened and he told me he chased him through my back garden and caught him around the block - but the route was like an assault course."

Tom Hardy’s spokesman declined to comment.

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Fans were quick to respond on Twitter:

The Metropolitan Police confirmed at 12.34pm on April 24, a motorcyclist was in collision with a car in Sheen Road, Richmond.

A spokesman said: "Officers happened to be present at the time of the collision.

"This was not a pursuit.

"The male motorcyclist was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and the male pillion passenger was arrested for taking a vehicle without consent.

"As both males sustained injures and the London Ambulance Service was called.

"The motorcyclist and pillion passenger were taken to a south London hospital for treatment to injuries not thought to be life threatening or life changing."

Enquiries into the incident continue.

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