'Be safe when you’re out and about', warns Hackney woman after phone snatch

A Hackney woman has spoken out after having her phone stolen in Haggerston.

Shaneeta Kaur’s phone was stolen after she left work on Queensbridge Road at 5pm on January 15.

A man on a pushbike snatched the phone out of her hand as she was texting, and continued cycling, turning off into Haggerston Park.

 “I felt a bit vulnerable because I thought I was quite streetwise and aware of my surroundings," she said.

"I don’t use my phone in public now [and] grip onto it quite tight if I do. If my phone is ringing, I'll wait until I get to the car and then I'll take [it[] out."

Shaneeta filed a report with the Met Police, who carried out enquiries and reviewed CCTV from the area, but no suspects were identified.

 “It has knocked my confidence,” she added.

A Met Police spokesperson said: “Thousands of mobile phones are stolen in London every year, most commonly through pickpocketing, table surfing, and more recently an increase in snatches by criminals riding on mopeds.

 “Police run daily operations to target offenders and work with second-hand retailers to crack down on stolen mobile phones being sold on.”