Pictures are being circulated by people who say they have seen the thieves in action

INCREASED phone snatches in the Primrose Hill area have prompted a community campaign to warn people to be wary of the danger when out and about.

Helen Sweeney was sitting having a morning coffee with her friends and two dogs outside Anthony’s Delicatessen in Regent’s Park Road when a group of would-be thieves on e-bikes mounted the pavement in an attempt to take their valuables.

Ms Sweeney said: “It seems to be in the morning which is a crucial time for the phone snatchers and I was sitting at the café with my two dogs Gilbert and Bernie and with elderly people and the phone snatchers came right up on the pavement and nearly knocked the dogs over and took our toes off.

“My phone was tucked away in my bag. All we had on the table was coffee cups, but as I said they use the pavement when they go in for the snatch. I wasn’t frightened, I just couldn’t believe how bold they were.

“Yesterday (on Tuesday) I personally saw two instances of phone theft on the high street and a popular time for the phone thefts seems to be when people are going to work or taking their kids to school.”

With the help of her Neighbourhood Watch group, Ms Sweeney has been instrumental in starting a campaign with posters and on social media warning people in the area to be wary of the phone thieves.

She said: “It’s the same people and from us distributing those pictures of them and putting it on the local community social media sites we’ve created a collective campaign. Everyone is doing their bit and it’s on and offline because we have quite a lot of elderly people here – for example the 249 residents at Oldfield Estate. Many don’t have social media so it’s important that we also use posters to make people aware.

“The biggest deterrent we can make as a collective is warning people to put their phones away and not use them in the open.”

Eleanor Sturdy, who is helping with the campaign said: “For quite some weeks now these people have been cycling around on e-bikes snatching phones.

“The biggest risk is walking with your phone out, say on Google maps getting directions. It’s worth a lot of money to these thieves. Our phones have everything on them now, our data and information. Prevention is key at this stage so we are encouraging people to not walk around with their valuables out.

A lot of people are anxious about this.”

Police directed the New Journal to their street robbery campaign called “Look up. Look out”, complementing their operational activity and reminding the public how they can make themselves less vulnerable to street robbery.

 A Met Police spokesperson said: “We understand the impact that mobile phone theft can have on victims. It’s an invasive and sometimes violent crime. We’re committed to protecting Londoners and tackling this issue as we make the capital safer.

“Met officers are targeting resources to hotspot areas with increased patrols to deter criminals and make officers more visibly available to members of the community. We are also deploying plainclothes officers to intervene against thieves.”