Left for dead by car thieves

A 25-year-old man is fighting for his life in hospital today after being stabbed in the face and chest outside his Battersea flat as he confronted two car thieves.

Timothy Robinson, described as a "lovely, friendly man", is critically ill after the stabbing in Warriner Gardens. Police say he was stabbed several times in front of his horrified girlfriend and collapsed at the scene.

A neighbour in her forties was among the first to reach Mr Robinson after he had been stabbed. She did not want to be named but said: "I heard a great commotion outside. I looked out of the window and saw someone lying in the road. I rushed out to see if there was anything I could do.

"There were people trying to look after his wounds, so I just tried to talk to him and calm him down. There was blood everywhere. He was very quiet and his eyes kept closing and opening. He came round once and said, 'I need to get up, my back hurts.' But he also had cuts on his face and chest.

"The paramedics put a big plaster across his shoulders. They held him up to cut his shirt away. He was saying, 'Let me go, let me go. I can't breathe.' His fingertips and mouth started turning blue."

She added: "I just want them to catch whoever did this. This is the worst thing I have known. I have felt sick all day."

Mr Robinson lives with his girlfriend in a ground-floor flat in a road of three-storey terraced houses on one side and commercial premises, including an oyster-seller and a wedding list specialist's. Less than half a mile away to the north is Battersea Park.

Neighbours say there have been a spate of knifepoint muggings in the area and police put up a sign a couple of months ago warning residents to be vigilant.

One neighbour, who also did not want to give her name, said of the couple: "They are both lovely people. It is a terrible shock and so frightening. I know it happens everywhere, but you don't expect it somewhere like here."

Software consultant Dominic Newland, 29, has lived on Warriner Gardens for 18 months and sees every day the contrast between affluent Battersea in the north and the deprived areas just a few yards away to the south.

He said: "The property price differences in the area is extraordinary. From Prince of Wales Gardens in the north to Battersea Park Road in the south, prices drop by a third in the space of just two roads. Council estates start there, so close to homes with TVR sports cars and Mercedes.

"There are lots of muggings around here. My wife is scared to come home alone now. I have asked her to check over her shoulder to see if anyone is coming when she opens the door to get in. At the off licence round the corner they have an extrahigh counter so people can't get to the person working there, and this is supposed to be a very nice area."

Scotland Yard said the motive for the attack on 10pm on Sunday was not clear, but one line of inquiry was that the victim, who is white, confronted two black men as they were trying to break into cars.

Anyone with information is asked to ring the incident room on 0208-247-8432 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.