A handful of bystanders have worked together to thwart a brazen assault and attempted theft in Auckland CBD.
A local, who wishes to remain anonymous, witnessed the blatant attack. He says two women attempted to steal a phone from another woman as she walked with a friend between Queen St and Albert St shortly after 4:30pm on Wednesday.
A bystander successfully tackled one of the alleged offenders, allowing the woman to get her phone back.
"At this point, the victim and her friend tried to get away but were followed by the two thieves," the witness told Newshub.
More bystanders "tried to intervene" as the alleged offenders continued to harass the victims, following them down Lower Albert St. A number of construction workers attempted to block the aggressors so the woman and her friend could escape.
As the witness called the police, one of the women proceeded to punch the victim's friend in the face.
The women were quickly arrested by police after attempting to flee the scene.
A police spokesperson confirmed the alleged offenders were taken into custody and the woman who was assaulted did not require medical treatment. It is currently unclear whether the women have been charged.
The victims were "shaken up" and "in shock" following the incident but appeared to be "generally okay".
Despite the "awful" nature of the attack, the witness has warm words for the bystanders who helped and the quick attendance of the police.
"It was really great to see... the public was so helpful. I thought it was a story worth telling," he says.
"If you try and rob and assault someone in the middle of Auckland City, you're not going to get away with it. Everyone involved in stopping this did a really good job.
"Just how great everyone was with helping the two girls was a nice silver lining to the whole thing."
