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Richmond Park bikejacking victim feared being “decapitated in the street” by machete-wielding thugs

Police step up patrols in the area after spate of bike thefts by moped muggers

The Metropolitan Police Service has stepped up patrols in Richmond Park following a spate of thefts of bikes by muggers on mopeds, with two victims threatened with machetes as their bikes were stolen, with one victim saying he thought he would be “decapitated in the street.”

The most recent incident happened next to a school just outside the park’s Roehampton Gate on Monday afternoon, with the cyclist who was robbed of his bike saying he feared he would be decapitated as one of the thieves brandished a machete.

> What is going on in Richmond Park? Photo of moped gang carrying bike surfaces on social media as Royal Parks Police confirm another bike-jacking incident

The first robbery happened at around 7pm last Wednesday, 6 October, 19:00hrs on Wednesday, 6 October, with  the victim, a man in his 20s, sustaining minor injuries when he was pushed from his bike on Sawyers Hill by two men on electric scooters.

The following day, Thursday 7 October, Alpecin-Fenix professional cyclist Alexandar Richardson was threatened with a machete as he was robbed of his bike by four men on two mopeds.

> Professional cyclist robbed of bike by Richmond Park machete gang

In Monday’s incident, which happened at around the victim was 37-year-old Mike Radville from Lewisham, who told Mail Online that he thought he was going to be “decapitated in the street.”

He said: “They then pulled up alongside me and one of them showed me a machete – he only pulled it out slightly but showed it to me.

“At that moment I change gear and go for it, trying to get away as fast as I can. Then he pulls it out completely and it looked like he was going to go for me.

“I went up onto the pavement to avoid them, but then I'm running out of pavement so I went back onto the road and that's when they rammed into me, just outside the school.

“The guy got off the moped and was still waving his machete about as he didn't want anyone to get near him. He picked up my bike and jumped onto the back of the moped with my bike over his shoulder.

“One minute I was cycling along, and the next minute I thought I was going to be decapitated in the street,” he added. “It was terrifying.”

Police said they are also investigating a report of a man in his 50s being pushed off his bike in Roehampton Lane at around the same time, with two men on a moped again involved.

Chief Superintendent Elisabeth Chapple, who is the officer responsible for local policing in south-west London, said: “Many people in the area would have seen these reports on social media and will understandably be concerned. I can reassure you that we are doing everything we can to track down those responsible for these terrible crimes.

“Everyone should be able to feel safe when using Richmond Park and that's why I have arranged for additional officers to be in the area over the comings days.

“They will work alongside our dedicated Royal Parks officers and I would encourage anyone with concerns to approach them, or to call 999 in an emergency,” she added.

Detective Inspector Gavin Collins, from Operation Venice, the Met's response to moped enabled crime, said: “These incidents would have been incredibly frightening for those involved and I would like to reassure the victims and the public that we are doing everything we can to track down these dangerous individuals.

“I would ask anyone who was in or around the park at the time of any of the incidents to check for any dashcam or cycle helmet footage. This could be key to helping us track down those responsible.”

To date, no arrests have been made in connection with any of the incidents.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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53 comments

Avatar
Sriracha | 2 years ago
1 like

Auntie has taken notice eventually...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-59000605

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leipreachan | 2 years ago
0 likes

Does anybody know what bikes were stolen?
Asking for a friend who has access to some Eastern European forums with shady reputation. I just want to check if these bikes won't appear in a few weeks there.

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Captain Badger replied to leipreachan | 2 years ago
2 likes

leipreachan wrote:

Does anybody know what bikes were stolen?
...

Expensive ones.....

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leipreachan replied to Captain Badger | 2 years ago
0 likes

obviously

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Captain Badger replied to leipreachan | 2 years ago
0 likes
leipreachan wrote:

obviously

Sorry, getting carried away with another thread...

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Rendel Harris replied to leipreachan | 2 years ago
2 likes

The Alpecin-Fenix rider was on a team branded Canyon Aeroroad, the Tuesday victim was on a red 2021 Cannondale System Six "with a frame number ending in 20".

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mdavidford replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
2 likes

Rendel Harris wrote:

"with a frame number ending in 20".

Does that mean the thieves win a prize?

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alan sherman | 2 years ago
1 like

Some good news. I'd like to have seen the 'tactical stop'. http://www.putneysw15.com/default.asp?section=info&page=concrime424.htm

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riggbeck | 2 years ago
1 like

I was once in Schenzen, China when moped gangs were a problem, we were told to not leave the hotel on our own in anything but shorts and T shirt and to carry nothing on us, the city also banned mopeds from the streets, people ignored the ban, the police just set up road blocks and took truck loads of mopeds away, no exceptions, often leaving a family without transport on the road side.

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Nick T replied to riggbeck | 2 years ago
0 likes

How do you get a family on a moped

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Steve K replied to Nick T | 2 years ago
2 likes

.

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chrisonabike replied to Nick T | 2 years ago
5 likes

By not wearing protection?

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Captain Badger replied to chrisonabike | 2 years ago
0 likes
chrisonatrike wrote:

By not wearing protection?

Oh very good sir, chapeau🎩

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joe9090 | 2 years ago
0 likes

Seems this moped crime is spiralling out of control and out of the MET's ability to stop it... we need a Judge Dredd!

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ceebee247 | 2 years ago
2 likes

Have just purchased some apple airtags to hide on my bikes frames - it won't deter but at least you should be able to track them easily enough 

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Surly Not | 2 years ago
9 likes

Cycling through the park at about 8pm last night was interesting. Saw two police cars patrolling within the park despite the gates being closed. Not something I'm used to seeing. 

Visible, community policing does work and a combination of foot + motor patrols is probably the only way to tackle this. 

 

 

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leipreachan | 2 years ago
1 like

> I would ask anyone who was in or around the park at the time of any of the incidents to check for any dashcam or cycle helmet footage
 

How about start using speed cameras everywhere? Maybe we're finally living in XXI century and we're able to use technologies to track people disobeying the law?

What's next hot spot for cranks like these? Regents Park? Box Hill?

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brooksby | 2 years ago
6 likes

Can Matthew Parris account for his whereabouts?  3

 

https://road.cc/content/news/3069-what%E2%80%99s-smug-and-deserves-be-de...

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smalltalk80 replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 2 years ago
0 likes

Is the use of force, ie swinging a D-lock at the moped rider who isn't wearing a helmet(!), permitted in order to prevent a crime, or as an act of self defence?

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Tony Farrelly replied to smalltalk80 | 2 years ago
1 like

I'm sure it is if they're waving a machete… though how much protection a D-lock affords in that situation is up for debate

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Nick T replied to smalltalk80 | 2 years ago
7 likes

You are entitled to defend yourself with appropriate force if you believe you are in personal danger, that includes preemptively so you don't have to be attacked first. Swing that D Lock with gay abandon young man

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ts437 replied to Nick T | 2 years ago
1 like

I'd recommend just handing over the bike to avoid being macheted and live to fight another day. D-locks are no match for moped jousting

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Nick T replied to ts437 | 2 years ago
1 like

As would I, but that wasn't the question 

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leipreachan replied to smalltalk80 | 2 years ago
5 likes

D-Lock is not a match for a machete. Unfortunately a single swing of big knife can lead to a death. A strike of d-lock is painful but not as near as dangerous and frightening.

Probably some type of sound alarm (Air Zoond?) or something similar can distract robbers and buy a cyclist some time.

Any self-defence instructor would advice you to refrain from any confrontation with a guy with a machete.

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chrisonabike replied to smalltalk80 | 2 years ago
0 likes

Think you'd want to carry two and practice constantly. Wisdom says there is always doubt in a knife - or machete - fight. You might lose a bicycle but prevent a greater crime.

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Hirsute replied to smalltalk80 | 2 years ago
2 likes

You can use reasonable force at the point that you are in fear of being attacked.

In this instance, you would need a 10' pike to fend them off. The normal measure is to have a fight with marker pens as knives to see how many ink lines are on your body. This is how many cuts and lethal cuts you will get.

A camera is your best asset when faced with a machete.

 

Hopefully there will be a sting operation soon where the tasers come out.

 

 

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brooksby replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
0 likes

Are we allowed to use pepper spray or similar?

Asking for a friend...

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Hirsute replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
1 like

No, but you can wear a suit of armour (check max weight limit on frame though)

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hawkinspeter replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
3 likes

brooksby wrote:

Are we allowed to use pepper spray or similar?

Asking for a friend...

Well you might be innocently eating a bland sandwich and want to add some spice to it and whoops, the spray was pointing in the wrong direction...

Avatar
brooksby replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
1 like

It's out of stock.  Guess I'll just have to eat bland sandwiches...

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