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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Sophie Halle-Richards

'They must have stolen over £10k of jewellery' - more Parklife goers report gold chains being ripped from necks

More festival goers have come forward claiming they were assaulted and stripped of their gold chains at Parklife festival.

It comes after the M.E.N reported that a number of people attending the event last weekend had been the victim of a 'targeted' theft, in which expensive gold chains were snatched from them.

One man spoke of the terrifying moment he was knocked unconscious during the middle of a DJ set, and robbed of his £3,000 necklace.

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Ameya Bhanushali, 27, fears he could have been seriously hurt after he was punched in the neck by an unknown man during the altercation at the Drum and Bass stage on Saturday (10 June).

Another man, named Callum, said his gold chain, which was left to him by his late father, was snatched from his neck as he danced with pals at the Hangar stage on the Sunday.

Now, another man, who has asked to remain anonymous, claims his valuable gold chain was also stolen by two men dressed in all black, on Saturday night at the same stage as Ameya.

Ameya Bhanushali's gold chain was snatched from his neck (Ameya Bhanushali)

"These two guys appeared and they were quite distinctive because they were dressed in long sleeves and wearing all black tracksuits when most people were wearing shorts," he said.

"I felt a pinch on my neck and suddenly this guy just ripped the necklace from my neck. I caught the guy by the collar but then a second guy followed up with a punch to my mouth.

"I wasn't sure what to do so I followed them, but when they realised I was behind them one of the guys stopped and motioned to pull something out of his bag. I didn't see a knife or anything but I thought sod it, it's not worth it.

"Straight after it happened another guy came up to me and said the exact same thing had happened to him a few minutes before."

The man said he went straight to security with a description of the two men, but claims they told him there wasn't much they could do about it.

"I even offered my details just in case they did manage to catch the people responsible but they weren't interested," he said. "They just passed me off to another person.

Callum's gold necklace was stolen from his neck (MEN Media)

"I couldn't see any police there so I submitted a report on the Sunday evening. I contacted Parklife but they just told me I needed to speak to the police about it and they couldn't help.

"I know they arrested quite a few people over the weekend so it would be good if police asked some of the victims to see if any of these people were the ones responsible. They must have stolen well over £10,000 worth of chains

"I don't think security were really trained to deal with it. "They didn't even take a description of the men so they clearly weren't going to do anything to try and stop it from happening again.

"The chain has both sentimental and monetary value and it's the kind of thing I wear every day so I just didn't think to take it off for the festival. People were expensive sunglasses and designer clothes so where do you draw the line?"

Greater Manchester Police have confirmed they are investigating the reports made by Callum and Ameya with enquiries said to be 'ongoing.' The force have been approached for comment in response to the most recent report.

The organisers of Parklife have been approached for comment.

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