Past RIBA president Ben Derbyshire has been inundated with messages of support after video footage emerged showing him battling a gang of moped-riding bike thieves in east London.

Derbyshire, who is also chair of HTA Design, confronted the gang of criminals outside a café in Broadway Market, near London Fields, on Friday.

Images captured by onlookers and shared on social media by Derbyshire show the 70-year-old tussling with members of the gang outside El Ganso. They had used an angle grinder in what turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt to steal the architect’s £2,500 Brompton bike, which was locked to his daughter’s bike.

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