Yobs threatened to stab a Bristol woman for her Voi scooter in a daylight attack. They struck as she arrived outside the Hengrove Park Leisure Centre.
One of the pair was wearing a skull mask and threatened to stab her. Sam, 36 who did not want to be identified except to say she is a nurse and care home manager, was on her way into the leisure centre around 5.30pm on Wednesday. She was parking the scooter, when the first teen tried to grab the it from her.
Sam said: “Just as I was putting it on the stand, he grabbed the bike. I thought 'I’m not going to let you get away with this', so I started to chase him.
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“Another one, wearing skull mask and dressed in a dark cream tracksuit came up. He grabbed at his trousers and told me to let go of his friend or I’m going to stab you.”
Sam said she wasn’t sure if the teen had a knife in his trouser pockets, but added: “When he threatened to stab me, I felt unsafe.” She said the pair were with two girls dressed in school uniform.
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As she took out her phone and called 999 to get police assistance, she said the group were 'nonchalant' as they sat down at a nearby table. Security from the leisure centre came outside as they had been alerted to the incident and the group of teens left.
Sam added that the security officers told her the teens had been sitting in the centre’s cafe and had been asked to leave. She said the group appeared to be around 13 years old.
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“I hear stories about knife crime, what environment are these kids growing up in? What do we do, is it normal to threaten a woman?” she said.
She added people gathered around to help her. before she took the scooter and went home. Sam has cancelled her leisure centre subscription, saying: "I just went home, I won't be going to that gym again."
Dylan Lewis, a manager at Hengrove Park Leisure Centre, said they were aware of the incident and would be assisting with CCTV footage. He added that the centre's security had been fully briefed about the incident.
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said: “Police are investigating after an attempted robbery in the car park of Hengrove Leisure Centre. A woman was threatened by a group of teenagers who attempted to steal her Voi e-scooter at about 5.10pm on Wednesday 21 June.”
The spokesperson confirmed that one boy threatened to stab her, but that no knife was seen. The teens were described as: “One was a white boy, about 5ft tall wearing a black hooded top and a skeleton mask.
The second was a Black boy about 5ft 3ins tall described as having Afro hair being dressed in black. They were with two white girls, both with long brown hair and each wearing a black skirt and black v-neck jumper.
She said: “If you saw the incident or have any dashcam footage or information which could help the investigation, please call 101 and give the reference 5223146727.”
Alternatively contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100 percent anonymously by calling 0800 555 111, or online at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information.
