Bungling thief fails to lift bike over fence before homeowner arrives

This is the moment a brazen thief tried fails to steal a bike from a neighbour.

The man was filmed on CCTV climbing over the metal railings of the front yard in Antipolo City, the Philippines, on July 22.  But he was unable to lift the bicycle back through the gap.

He then strangely started playing with a water pistol. But his plan failed after the owner returned home in their car at around 2.30am, causing the thief to scarper. 

The owner of the bike, Ian Cy, said that the thief is notorious in the neighbourhood for stealing all sorts of things from bike to car parts.

Ian said: "He had been hiding in his mother's house. His family is tolerating him and won't surrender him to the police."

According to Ian, he was only arrested after the videos were published online which ''pressured the police into taking action''.

Police are now doing background checks and making dental records to find the age of the suspect before continuing the legal process.