Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy had reportedly nabbed a thief. Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty

A woman has come forward claiming that she was the one who chased and helped nab an alleged runaway moped thief just days after Tom Hardy was compared to a real-life superhero for making a citizen's arrest for the same.

Carly Holder, an engineer and a DJ, told the Daily Mail on Saturday, 29 April that she was not looking for recognition but wanted The Dark Knight Rises star to "admit it wasn't him" who assisted in the arrest of a suspected moped thief.

"It was me who chased the boy and hauled him back to the scene. I'm not seeking plaudits, but I would like Hardy to admit it wasn't him," the 35-year-old said. "No one who was there saw Hardy. I made the arrest. The police spoke to me afterwards and thanked me for it."

Holder said the drama unfolded when she was having lunch with her partner at The Red Cow in Richmond, south west London.

"Just before the crash, we had gone to the tables outside that overlook the crossroads. Two youths on a moped roared up and ran a red light. They smashed into an Audi coming up to the junction. Both catapulted 4ft into the air."

"One of the boys from the moped ran off down an alleyway. I didn't stop to think, I just ran after him yelling, 'Stop!'," she said and added, "Looking back, it sounds rash. For all I knew he may have had a knife or a gun. But my instinct was to give chase."

She said she nabbed one of the teenager after pursuing him for about 150 yards, and then brought him back to the pub, where a police officer reportedly told her to hang on to him while they dealt with the other moped rider who was on the ground with a broken leg.

The two teens were arrested on suspicion of theft of the moped. The Taboo star's spokesperson has not commented on incident while the Metropolitan Police has simply said a "member of the public" assisted in the incident.