Mobile mugging

AS A 15-year-old boy living in London I am not at all surprised that thousands of phones are stolen by muggers. In fact, I believe the actual figure is probably far higher.

In the past year, most of my friends have been mugged for their phones and money, and several of these incidents have been at knifepoint. Very few of these assaults were reported because the victims feared a reprisal if they identified their attacker. I wouldn't want to testify in court if I was likely to meet my mugger and his "crew" on the street again in the near future.

I am fairly tall, at 5ft 10in, and quite a few of my friends are taller and larger than me. But nothing seems to stop the muggers from hassling us on a regular basis.

On Saturday, I went to Camden market with four friends. At about 6pm, just as it was getting dark, we were surrounded on the bridge by a group of 25 to 30 black youths ranging in age from 13 to 18.

I consider myself reasonably streetwise and carried on talking to my friends waiting for them to pass. To my horror, I realised we were being encircled.

The boys blocked our path in each direction and we were hidden from passers by. Two youths came up to each of us and demanded our phones. When we told them that we didn't have any they went straight for our pockets. They walked away with two phones that had a street value of about £40.

We did report this incident but most of the time we just don't bother telling the police any more. What's the point if the police hardly ever catch the offenders and, when they do, they just seem to let them off with a caution.

We have all got quite used to being hassled and are often approached for our phones two times or more in a day. I was first approached when I was 13, and I was punched in the face. My friend George Jackson has been less lucky, and holds the record in our group for having been mugged 10 times and having five phones stolen in the past year.

He said: "I was mugged on the tube in Acton, quite a few times in Hammersmith - which is where most of my friends live - and also in Ealing. I don't think these areas are particularly bad, as it is happening to my friends in all other parts of London as well.

"I think the most frightening time was when I was in a park in Hammersmith with some friends. A group of boys came up and demanded our money and phones. They threatened to knife us if we didn't hand them over."

When I read about the girl who was shot for her phone it made me anxious. It could just as easily have been me or one of my friends.

I have tried not to let these attacks influence the way I live but there have been a few times that I have decided not to go out with my friends because they were going to places where I thought we were likely to be mugged. Whenever I do go out I hide my money and my phone. I don't see why I should have to do this and be in constant fear of attack on the street.

Something needs to be done. I think more kids will be badly hurt if the police and the courts don't start to take the matter seriously.

It's all part of life for most teenage boys in London, and the police don't seem to be able to help much at all. My friends probably report only one in five incidents when they have been mugged and had their phones stolen.

I wish something would be done about this situation. I think my friends and I have the right to walk on the street without being threatened or attacked - even if we are carrying a mobile phone.