A BUSKER has shared footage of him appearing to bravely defend himself against a group of yobs trying to disrupt his act.
James Allan, who has more than 1.3m followers on TikTok, confronted the gang of thugs as they attempted to tamper with his equipment in Leeds city centre.
The busker James Allan shared footage of him defending the young group[/caption]
They were trying to distract his set[/caption]
He films and confronts the gang of thugs as they try to tamper with his equipment[/caption]
One lad tries to slap James, but he wades in and clobbers the attacker[/caption]
One hooded youth in a light blue body warmer even gives the impression that he is carrying a knife.
In the video’s on-screen captions, James wrote: “A gang of lads kept touching my guitar.
“So I thought I’d put them on camera to stop them doing it again.”
As one of the boys approaches again, James tells him: “You can touch if you want.
“I’ll go on the TikTok Live and show everyone what you’re doing.”
He then turns the camera to the group, who beat a hasty retreat once they realise they are being filmed.
As they slink off, James asks the group: “Why are you hioding your faces? Do you want to touch my stuff again or what?”
James’ friend Brad then tips him off that one of the boys, wearing a jeans and a sleeveless pukka jacket that partially covers his face, is coming back.
The intrepid busker goes to intercept the intruder – but it was only when reviewing the footage afterwards that he realised that the boy appeared to be reaching for what could be a knife.
As James writes in the caption: “It’s only upon watching this back do I realise he’s reaching for his pocket.
“Luckily I was able to grab his arms.”
The boy then slaps James with what appears to be an open palm, before James wades in and clobbers the attacker, plus several of his friends who also try to defend their mate.
Several bystanders then step in to try and cool tensions.
As James wrote: “People step in to break it up, which is good for me because there was about five of them.
“People think they can just absue buskers and we won’t defend ourselves.”
The boy in the puffa jacket then aims a kick at James, who catches his foot and pulls him to the ground.
He then goes back to the mic and tells shoppers: “I’m just trying to make a living, man. Do you know what I mean?”
West Yorkshire Police have been contacted for comment.
James posted the video on his social media accounts with the question: “Was I right to defend myself?”
One Facebook user said: “Sometimes gotta stand up to bullies.”
Another added said: “Nice jabs mate…be careful though those little scabs will be back with knives.”
Meanwhile a commentator on TikTok said: “You know how embarrassing it is to try throw a kick but the guy grabs your leg and drops you.”
