Watch out for douchebags trying to clothes line you

jesus thats scary!...ive seen it happen on the canal west of broadway market....3 scrotes jumped a guy infront of me and had his bike away...as i was on my own i stayed with him (claret everywhere) rather than give chase...yet another reason to ride a shitter in town....

I've obviously been lucky, I ride that stretch all the time. Have friends around there, so I'm often coming back at all hours too.

And I stick out like a sore thumb around there, yet they don't seem to take a sniff at me. Maybe the white-ish bike, white helmet and dayglo jacket make me look like a copper. I've had a couple of people say so.

Impersonating a police officer FTW?

Same thing happened to a friend last summer - bike gone, pockets emptied etc . . .

^ Must pack some stun grenades in my bag. Horrible. I'm guessing these attacks occur late at night?

This is basically pack animal behaivour as you would see in the wild.

Surely they should be treated as wild animals?

Captured, tagged and relocated. /Daily Mail Mode

To the OP
Nice work on anticipating. I would ask you to actually properly report that at the station, as a crime, if you can bring yourself to make the time to do it. Attempted robbery? Good that you asked some rozzers to look into it, but needs a proper report.

Sorry about your pal - nasty shit.

1+ report it asap, the more people report this for the police, the higher the chance they'll do something about it.

you're totally right
will be reporting this shit over the weekend
bunch a little twerps

(*that should read 'clothes-line' - sorry, not paying attention at work)

yo all -
two nights ago, a friend of mine was mercilessly beaten up by a 'gang of youths' while cycling back from old street.
they were hiding between two cars, jumped him on his bike, took him into an alleyway, beat him to a pulp - and of course took his wallet, phone, and brand new build (the most heartbreaking piece of info, of course)
normally, i would never think about anything like this. i feel completely safe and confident on a bike, much more than say when i'm a pedestrian. but it got me thinking that you can't be too confident in any situation...
and surprise surprise, last night on my route home from work (after Rodney Place off New Kent Road, in the Brandon Street/Portland Street stretch that runs parallel to Walworth Road...) the exact same thing happened to me - but I saw it coming and managed to avoid getting the shit kicked out of me.
A group of kids were waiting on the corner of a sidestreet. I could see them in the distance, and thought nothing of it, but when I noticed another kid on a shitty red mountain bike closer to me who saw me and then whistled to the group. I knew what was about to happen so I was ready - kid ran out, and basically took a huge swing at me, while another came from the other side and tried to grab me by the neck.
i weaved right through em, but it was stupidly close. i got the fuck out of there at top speed, and flagged down a cop when I was in peckham about 3 minutes later. I gave them the exact address and for once they actually seemed to take me seriously.
hopefully, this won't happen again, but I really just wanted to warn everybody on here as that's quite a popular route for us South-East Londoners to get home - but also a pretty desolate and empty place after 8PM. if that kid had hit me while I was going full speed as I was, with SPD's on, I dread to think what could have happened. and giving that this happened to my buddy, and almost now-to-me, it's worth wondering whether this is becoming a popular trend...
keep your eyes peeled!

Abolsutely horrific. I live just around the corner in Pilton Place (East Street) seems like an Okish area didnt think this would happen here. Don't think I'll be using the Crown and Anchor shortcut again!

The level of violence is sick. If they want my empty wallet, my insured phone and my semi decent bike they could have them without knocking the shite out of me. Once they have hunted you in a pack they are in control, the violence Is gratuitous to the extreme.

that's awful.

I was actually thinking about this the other day, how shitty it is to live in London at times..and the only way to escape the monotony of it is through the freedom of your bike. but can't even do that anymore because scumbags basically want to kill you for it.

I actually live just around the corner from there too, shucks

London's fantastic.

certain people aren't.

true. London is a nice City, but the people make the City.. and those certain shitheads are ruining this place.

unfortunately, every city's got shitheads
i grew up in new york, paris, Vienna - and then moved here - let me tell you, it's all the fuckin' same no matter where you are
unfortunately, i really believe people are a product of their environment... if their life sucks, they end up taking it out on others. still, mustardbeak's nailed it... just take my shit, and leave me out of it.
reminds me of this time a friend of mine got stabbed up in camberwell; a guy asked him for his wallet and phone outside of what used to be the Red Star, he said 'no problem', handed over everything, and the guy left. two mins later the dude came back and said 'i know i'm forgetting something...' and stuck a knife in his gut for absolutely no reason.
terrible true story.

yeah totally, you get bad seeds everywhere. but I think the problem with London at the moment (and at least in the last couple of years) is the fact that the rate of violence has increased tenfold. there is no fear from criminals (they all seem to be kids), they seem to do whatever they want, whenever they want to. the amount of times my friends have been pushed, slapped or sprayed with shit (whilst riding around Bethnal Green) is horrendous, and it's getting worse.

I actually blame gentrification.

... how? interesting comment

How would gentrification be a reason? there are still authority building in every borough in London, and they're not getting knocked down anytime soon.

scary to think this happens, thanks for the telling your story and spreading the word.
More people that are aware the better.

Are you saying gentrification puts a higher calibre of lifestyle / goods in front of these people and the disparity between the haves and have nots fuels the violence?

Fuck me, it's gone all Daily Mail on this thread.

Blaming 1 thing (gentrification) is simplifying it a tad too much. I don't know the details but i think it can be said the problem is not just gentrification, but a host of other things too.

Well..it actually just occurred to me when I was writing that reply.

In all the time (especially around the East End) I've noticed what happens when wealthy people/developements come into a neighbourhood with an existing crime problem or even border-line problems with crime, they collide. What I noticed from living in Hackney/Bethnal Green etc is that if you're not ghetto, then you're easy prey.

Are you saying gentrification puts a higher calibre of lifestyle / goods in front of these people and the disparity between the haves and have nots fuels the violence?

it's easy pickings

but I think the problem with London at the moment (and at least in the last couple of years) is the fact that the rate of violence has ***increased tenfold. ***

im just interested to know if it's fact or your opinion, cos really, tenfold increase is pretty substantial.

shit dude! thats brutal for all you guys who've experienced this, little shitbag scallies! Im moving back to manchester in september for uni, hopefully with a new langster... i'm actually a bit nervous about it now. has anyone had any issues or heard any stories about this stuff happening up there?

im just interested to know if it's fact or your opinion, cos really, tenfold increase is pretty substantial.

it's my opinion, through what I've been witness to and those around me.

it's my opinion, through what I've been witness to and those around me.

Personally, and forgive my wild, out there thinking, I always think statistics should be based on something more substantial than opinion...