Two teenagers were arrested following a suspected motorcycle theft after they were apprehended by a member of the public thought to have been actor Tom Hardy.

A witness told how the Hollywood star caught the driver after a dramatic chase through gardens and a building site during the incident on Sunday.

The Metropolitan Police said it arrested the 16-year-old males near the actor’s home in Richmond, south-west London, and they have since been released.

Onlooker Arun Pullen, 22, told The Sun newspaper how two youths on a motorbike jumped a red light at a busy junction before crashing into a £50,000 Mercedes.

Tom, the "superhero".
Tom, the “superhero” (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA)

He said the 39-year-old Batman star “switched into superhero mode”, chasing down one of them before checking him for weapons.

“Tom must have been walking down the road. He went off like a shot in pursuit and looked furious,” he said.

“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.”

Arun’s girlfriend Kalisha, a fan of the actor, added: “There was no mistaking him.”

Scotland Yard said in a statement on Tuesday: “At 12.34pm on Sunday April 23, a motorcycle was in collision with a car in Sheen Road, Richmond.

“Officers were not pursuing the motorcycle but happened to be present at the location at the time of the collision.

Scotland Yard released a statement following the incident.
Scotland Yard released a statement following the incident (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

“Two 16-year-old boys immediately made off from the scene.

“The pillion passenger was detained by police a short distance away and was arrested on suspicion of taking a vehicle without consent and allowing to be carried.

“The rider of the motorcycle was detained by a member of the public in Church Road and then arrested by officers on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and being disqualified from driving.

“Both teenagers sustained injuries as a result of the collision and the London Ambulance Service was called.

“They were initially taken to a south London hospital for treatment and then taken into custody at a west London police station.”