New normal?

Good morning. I see on the twitttterattta  that Judge Rinder, (I am not familiar with his TV programme), has had his phone snatched from his hand in a London Street. A horrible experience I would imagine. Theft of one's personal possessions, especially when they are wrenched from your hand must be a very traumatic experience. 

This kind of crime seems to be gathering momentum. Youngsters on scooters and bikes looking for easy prey. Most bikes are stolen, two people wearing balaclavas can make quite a lot of money by taking this particular line of work. It can be very lucrative so I understand.  

The sensible thing to do would be to never walk about anywhere with your phone in your hand. But of course people do just that, because they cannot bear to be isolated from the rest of the world. I have missed calls on my little Nokia because the phone was in my bag and I couldn't get it out quick enough. Not to worry. I prefer to be unobtainable for a while.  

I bet the companies who sell phones, and those who provide the services are rubbing their hands with glee. YAY, someone is going to need a new phone. 

Here is Roberts tweeeet...... and a few responses.

I’ve just had my phone grabbed out my hands by 3 boys wearing balaclavas on bikes (Finchley Road & Canfield gardens). They laughed as I shouted to drop it. I'm in shock.

It’s sadly a common occurrence. A single person on a moped can steal around £4K worth of phones every day and the phones are given to a fencer before you’ve even called the police.

This happened to me, except I chased the guy. He was on a push bike. I knocked him off his bike. He grabbed me and threw me into oncoming traffic. I never let go. He was a career criminal and thankfully got thrown in jail.

This happened to me outside Euston station last year. I was also punched in stomach but screamed and ran after attacker as did half the station and he dropped the phone.

Same thing happened to me some time ago, luckily a postman was near by , I jumped in his van and we chased them up the road, I dived out the van on top of the guy to his surprise, gave him a black eye and retrieved my phone.

Happened to me also in Russells Square. Devastated me. Unfortunately the police said this is happening a lot but they hardly ever find the people that do it.

Had my phone snatched out of my hand by boys on bikes on West End lane just a week or so ago — tracked my phone being cycled down to Kilburn, and then it was switched off.

Please be careful people. In an ideal world nothing would get stolen, but it does, so take steps to protect your valuables.

Thanks for popping in. Time for brekkie. Toodle pip. ilona