Olympic gold medallist Sir Mo Farah comes out of retirement to chase down phone thieves

Long distance legend Sir Mo Farah showed exactly the kind of mentality that makes him one of the best runners in the world when he chased down would-be thieves in his gated community.

The retired Olympic distance runner showed off his skills last week whilst out running with his wife Tania. This is because after leaving his phone on the side of a private road, intending to collect it at the end of his run - but before he had a chance a large white van, which had two men inside, pulled up to allow one of them to take the phone before driving off.

However they were spotted by Sir Mo, who according to one onlooker took off at 'Olympic speed' and at 'full throttle' after the vehicle.

When the criminials realised who they were dealing with, they quickly handed back the phone before speeding away,

But Sir Mo is said to be furious about the whole thing, as the road his phone was lifted from is no ordinary road. He and his wife live in an expensive 964-acre gated community, where they are ecomforted by the extensive security on site.

So the 5,000 and 10,000 metre champion is entirely bemused on how the suspects were about to get past the 24-hour security detail in any case. A source told the Mail on Sunday that an investigation has been launched into what happened.

The 41-year-old declined to comment on the event. It comes after he announced his retirement after he finished fourth at Tyneside's Great North Run in September last year, a race he had previously won a record six times.

Sir Mo has been married to Tania, a fellow long-distance runner for 14 years having known her since their youth when they attended the same West London running club.