A schoolboy "thought he was going to die" after being threatened by two men who claimed they had knives.
Sean Hayes, 15, was travelling from Birkenhead to his dad's house in Liverpool on Friday 31 March when he was approached by two men on William Brown Street in the city centre. Mum Emma Diamond said the men told her son "listen to us now and do as you're told, we've got knives on us."
The men then demanded Sean hand over his mobile phone. Merseyside Police has issued CCTV of two men they believe could assist with their investigation. A police spokesperson said no injuries were reported and no weapon was seen during the robbery, but the victim was very shaken as a result.
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Emma, 34, told the ECHO: "These two lads have gone up to him and asked him how old he is. He said 15 and they said 'have you got your phone on you?' He said 'yeah do you need to use it?'
"They said 'you're going to listen to us now and do as you're told. We've got knives on us.'
"My son was obviously scared, he didn't know what to do. He was looking around to see if anyone could help him but people were quite far away from where he was standing. There was one lad in front and one lad behind him."
Emma said the men led Sean to St John's Gardens where they told him to wipe the data from his phone. She said: "At this time they're still saying 'have you got anything else on you - your bank card?' My son said there's nothing on my bank card it's not worth taking."
Emma said the men then told Sean to wait by the Queen Square bus station where they would return with his phone. She said he "knew that wasn't going to happen" but he walked over to the bus station and asked for help.
Emma now wants to warn other parents to tell their children to be vigilant during the Easter holidays.
She said: "It's shaken him up quite a lot. He won't travel on his own now. He said 'I thought I was going to collapse' because he was that scared.
"He kept thinking 'I'm going to die', but he couldn't shout out to anyone in case they stabbed him.
"I was upset and angry. At the end of the day you can replace a phone, you can't replace a life. I could have been getting a completely different phone call."
Detective Inspector Katie Coote said: “This was a very distressing incident for the 15-year-old victim to experience and thankfully he wasn’t injured during the robbery.
“This took place at a busy time where people would have been in the area, and I urge anyone who was in the vicinity at that time and saw something suspicious to please contact us so we can bring the offenders to justice.
“I am also appealing to the two men featured in the images, or anyone who recognises them to come forward. We believe they could hold information that could be vital to our continuing enquiries.”
Anyone who witnessed the incident or with any information can contact us by DM via our social media desk on Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ with reference 23000273007. You can also contact the independent charity Crime stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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