This is the moment a thief strips an American tourist of his luxury watch in front of his horrified family in Barcelona.
CCTV footage shows the man walking up an alley in the city’s Gothic Quarter as the mugger runs up behind him and grabs his arm.
The crook swings his target around with one hand and almost causes him to fall over.
He then rips the watch off the tourist’s wrist and runs away from the scene, leaving the family stunned.
Police said they valued the timepiece at $45,000 (£37,000), days after the traveller told them it was a Hublot worth nearly $1 million.
It is not clear why police lowered the estimated value of the stolen watch by so much after carrying out their own checks.
The incident took place at around 2pm on Tuesday, near the five-star Mercer Hotel, where the family were believed to have been staying.
One local report said they had eaten lunch at a nearby restaurant and were returning to their room for a siesta.
The regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force said they were unable to confirm what type of watch had been taken.
But at the time, a spokesman for the force said: ‘I can confirm we are investigating the violent theft of a designer watch worth $800,000 following a complaint from a tourist.
‘The person who reported the crime said he was surrounded by a gang of muggers who snatched the watch off his wrist. The incident reported happened around 2.20pm on Tuesday. No arrests have yet been made.’
This appeared to be at odds with CCTV released after the statement, which only showed one thief.
A police spokesman said: ‘The man who reported his watch had been stolen was slightly hurt but they were minor injuries.’
