A THIEF was caught by members of the public who chased him after he stole a woman’s £900 iPhone as she was celebrating her birthday in a pub.

Ionut-Cristian Luca pinched Toni McKinley’s mobile at the Greyhound on Newport’s High Street, the city’s magistrates’ court was told.

Chris Rose, prosecuting, said: “The victim was in Newport city centre celebrating her birthday when she went into the Greyhound at around 1.15am.

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“A gentleman hugged her who she had never seen before.”

Magistrates heard how she soon realised that someone, the man who embraced her she was to discover, had stolen her phone and reported it to staff at the pub.

Mr Rose added: “The victim then saw this defendant again and he was chased along Cambrian Road by others and was apprehended.”

During the pursuit, Luca, from Newport, threw the phone but it was recovered and returned undamaged to the woman.

The court was told the defendant had a previous conviction for theft and had a criminal record in his native Romania.

Luca, formerly of Dolphin Street, Newport, but now of the city's Elgar Avenue, pleaded guilty to stealing the phone on July 7 2019.

The defendant followed the court proceedings with the help of an interpreter.

Scott Bowen, mitigating, said his client worked as a car washer and was “desperate for money” at the time of the offence.

“He saw an opportunity and made a stupid decision to grab the phone and leave.

“There was no loss in itself. The phone was recovered,” said Mr Bowen.

Luca was fined £100 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £32 surcharge.