Art-ful dodger! Artist Damien Hirst shares video of how brazen beggar swiped his mobile from table outside Mayfair restaurant with simple distraction trick
- Damien Hirst was dining at a restaurant in Mayfair when his phone was taken
- Claimed a boy who showed him a piece of paper took his mobile from the table
- CCTV footage showed the moment the boy unfolded the paper on Wednesday
- Hirst said the boy used the paper to block his view of his phone before taking it
Artist Damien Hirst has shared a video showing the moment he thinks his phone was stolen by a boy pretending to be a beggar.
Hirst, 55, was dining at a restaurant in Mayfair, London, when his mobile was taken by an alleged thief who distracted him with a piece of paper, he claimed.
The modern artist shared footage of the incident to his Instagram on Wednesday, but the incident is thought to have occured before the nationwide lockdown came into force on November 5.
CCTV footage taken from outside the restaurant shows a young man approaching Hirst while he sits at his table.
He begins to unfurl a piece of paper in his hands, shielding the device from Hirst’s view.
Damien Hirst, 55, was dining at a restaurant in Mayfair, London, when his mobile was taken by an alleged thief (pictured) who distracted him with a piece of paper, he claimed. Pictured, the moment the boy approached the outside dining table
The modern artist shared footage of the incident to his Instagram on Wednesday, but the incident is thought to have occured before the nationwide lockdown came into force on November 5. Pictured, Hirst with a piece of his artwork
One person viewing the CCTV footage can be heard saying: ‘F****** hell these kids are quick.’
The video then cuts away to when the man has left, apparently with the mobile in his possession.
Hirst, originally from Bristol, posted a photo of the young man and said: ‘Gotta be careful these days.
‘My phone got nicked off the table at a Mayfair restaurant while I was having lunch by this young kid.
It is not known what was written on the paper the boy held up to Hirst as he sat enjoying his lunch, but the artist said the boy was begging for money
CCTV footage showed Hirst sitting at a table during lunch with a female companion (left) when the boy approached with a slip of paper (right)
The boy begins unfurling the piece of paper as he asks Hirst for money and leans over the table as he brings the paper in closer to the world-renowned artist
The CCTV footage cut out just as Hirst believes his phone was taken. He claimed on his Instagram story that the boy used the paper as a shield between his target and the phone. He believes his phone was taken in the moment the boy held up the paper for him to read
Charles Saatchi and Hirst (pictured together in front of ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’). The artwork pictured involved a tiger shark being preserved in formaldehyde in a glass case
‘For the Love of God’ was a platinum cast human skull covered in over 8,600 diamonds which cost the artist £14 million to make. Picured, Hirst’s girlfriend Sophie Cannell with the creation
‘He pretended to be begging and showing me a bit of paper while he swiped my phone!
‘I feel like a d***, food was good though. Glad it wasn’t my wallet..’
Hirst first came to prominence in the 90’s as part of the Young British Artists movement and has since then gathered a net worth of a reported £315 million.
Some of his most famous works include: ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ which involved a tiger shark being preserved in formaldehyde in a glass case.
Others include ‘For the Love of God’ a platinum cast human skull covered in over 8,600 diamonds which cost the artist £14 million to make.
MailOnline has contacted Metropolitan Police and a representative of Damien Hirst for comment.