Two teenagers were arrested in relation to a suspected motorcycle theft after one of them was apprehended by actor Tom Hardy.

A witness said the Hollywood star caught one suspect in 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, southwest London.

It said the two 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 Mercedes.

He said the 39-year-old Batman star, who was in the area at the time, then “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.”

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

Scotland Yard statement

Scotland Yard said in a statement on Tuesday: “At 12.34pm on Sunday, April 23rd, 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.

“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.”

PA