Detectives are hunting two robbers who scarred a man for life as they slashed him in the face trying to grab his phone in south London.
The suspects, who were on a bicycle, ambushed the man on a towpath near South Bermondsey station in Southwark at 5.10pm on Wednesday.
The suspects pulled the victim, who is in his forties, to the ground and slashed his face twice with a knife in an attempt to steal his phone.
When they couldn’t easily grab the phone they fled empty handed.
They were seen cycling off in the direction of Stubbs Drive after the attack.
The two men are described as both being white and aged around 18 to 20 years and were wearing dark clothing.
The victim was left with cuts on his face. He was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to hospital for treatment.
Detective Sergeant Darren Quartly of the Met’s Central South Robbery Team is leading the investigation.
He said: “This was a violent and frightening attack on an innocent person. The suspects did not achieve their aim of stealing his phone but the pain they caused him physically and mentally is significant. The scars from his injuries will be with him for the rest of his life and it will take him time to recover from this attack.
“We are determined to crack down on crimes like these to make our streets safer.
“The incident happened near a station at a busy time of day and so we think it’s likely that someone will have seen something or have some information that could help our investigation. If you know anything at all we urge you to get in touch.”There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.
Anyone with information or any witnesses is asked to call police on 101 or @MetCC on X, quoting CAD 5048/6Dec.
To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit the crimestoppers-uk.org website.
