Mugging yesterday 4.50pm Honor Oak Rd

[Ohno]

This is just to let you know that my son was mugged yesterday after getting off the 185 bus, on Honor Oak Road (Tesco garage end), at around 4.50pm. There were two approx 18-year-old, black males, one with a bandana partially covering his face. They started to chat to him and his friend and then asked to borrrow his phone and then took it, crossing the road with it. Apparently there has been a spate of similar opportunistic robberies, it seems possibly by the same people (the police told us nine other similar thefts had occurred in the area yesterday evening) so you may want to tell your children to be extra alert if you're in the Dulwich/Forest Hill area. Also, someone in a silver car kindly stopped to ask if he was being mugged but at that stage they hadn't taken the phone so he said he was OK. If you were that driver by any chance perhaps you could PM me.

[Frenchpolisher]

A number of boys have reported being robbed or harassed on the way to Forest Hill Boys school over the past week. Parents have been informed. I wonder whether it's the same people responsible.

[HannahSE23]

How upsetting for your son. It's horrible for kids if they don't feel safe travelling to or from school. Hope the staff at Forest Hill School can work with the police over this.

[Penguin68]

About 12-15 years ago DC boys expected to be mugged for their phones about every 3 months (no really!) - that was when mobile ownership wasn't quite so wide-spread. Around then one of my daughters was mugged for her phone, but it was so old and manky the mugger gave it back and advised her to 'get her dad to buy a decent one!'. She was about 15 at the time. She was also attacked (in the Rye) - another attempted mugging - when she was about 6 or 7, and walking with friends. She fought back (she was slightly injured) and they scared the attackers (a group of older girls) off. She toured round later with the police but couldn't see her attackers. I'm afraid this recent event is deplorable, but doesn't mark a sudden descent into barbarism - for this area it's 'same old, same old'.

[uncleglen]

Yes penguin68 it was bad when my kids were at school....the first incident we had was in 1992 and there was at least one mugging or assault on one of them or their friends every week. Broad daylight attacks in some areas e.g. Lewisham, are common as well- especially when iPods came out- at the time the police issued letters to school kids telling them not to use the distinctive white earphones.

Maybe this is why everyone drives their kids to school...

[tomskip]

Forest Hill School have done as much as they can, I think, with regard to this recent spate of muggings. Ironically, mobile phones are banned in the school and most of the pupils don't even take their phones to school with them. I feel so sorry for your son, OP, and all the other young folk who have been targeted like this. Where do all the phones go? I just can't believe that there is a huge black market for them!