A 14-year-old boy has been punched in the face and threatened with a knife in an underpass robbery.
Yesterday (Wednesday) between 2.30pm and 2.45pm, the boy was walking on the redway in Knowlhill. As he entered the underpass at the H6, between Loughton and Knowlhill and towards the Teardrop Lakes, he passed a man who bumped into him and pressed a knife to his chest, pushing him against the wall of the underpass.
The offender asked the victim for his property, then searched his pockets and bag, stealing a BlackBerry phone. The man then became aggressive and punched the victim four or five times in the face, before running out of the underpass in the direction of Loughton.
The victim's cheek was sore, but did not require hospital treatment.
The offender is black, possibly Somalian, aged between 20 and 25-years-old, about 5ft 11ins, slim, with short, shaven black hair, a large nose and spotty complexion. He was wearing a blue Adidas hooded zip-up jacket with a white Adidas logo on the left chest and white stripes down the arms, black Nike jogging bottoms with the Nike Tick on the left upper chest area, black trainers with white Adidas stripes going down the shoe to the sole. He did not speak English very well.
Anyone who witnessed the offence, saw the man hanging around the area, or recognises the description of the man, should contact DC Samantha Reynolds via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 101.
If you don't want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
