A 23-year-old has spoken of his terror after a man appeared to pull a knife on him during an attempted robbery at a shopping park.
Connor Claxton was left shaken after approaching a man who was attempting to steal his bike at Silverlink Shopping Park on Friday.
He said the man threw the bike at him before coming towards him with what appeared to be a pocket knife shouting "If you try to get the bike again, this will be in you."
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Connor, from Wallsend, said: "It was absolutely terrifying, you just don't expect something like that to happen in Newcastle.
"When I approached him I thought he might lash out at me but the last thing on my mind was that this guy might be carrying a knife."
The incident happened at around 9pm on Friday after Connor left his bike locked in a bike shelter at the retail park while he visited McDonalds.
He secured the bike with a chained lock and closed the shutters at the entrance to the shelter, but he didn't realise that the shelter was smashed at one end, leaving enough room for someone to gain access to it.
As he left the restaurant he noticed a man pushing two bikes and after glancing over at the bike shelter he soon realised one of the bikes belonged to him.
The man, who Connor describes as being in his mid to late 30s, had managed to cut through the lock and damaged the paintwork on the bike before making off with it.
Connor said: "I ran across the road and said to him 'That's my bike' and he said 'I f***ing know it's not my bike' and he chucked it at me.
"Then he shouted 'You're f***ing lucky I can't ride it!' and when I walked over to get my bike off the floor he pulled a knife out and said 'Next time, if you try to get the bike again, this will be in you' and he flashed the knife at me.
"I said 'I'm sorry mate, but that's my bike' and I picked it up and then he got right in my face and said 'I don't f***ing care.'
"He started to walk away but then it looked like he was going to walk back towards me. He was proper staring at me and then he shouted 'Next time' before walking off."
He added: "When I rang 999 after it happened I don't think the call handler could make out what I was saying properly because they had to keep asking me to repeat myself.
"I was told to go and sit in McDonalds until police turned up but after 25 minutes I decided to move because I thought I might be putting myself in more danger by hanging around because he could come back."
Connor described the man as approximately 6ft with a broad North East accent.
He said he was wearing grey jogging bottoms and a black coat and left the shopping park heading towards Cobalt Business Park.
Connor said: "I'm potentially not the first person this has happened to.
"At first I thought it could have been opportunists, but when I told my friend he pointed out that they're probably not opportunists if they're going round with something like an angle grinder cutting locks off."
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: "Shortly after 9.30pm on February 11, police received a report of an attempted robbery in Wallsend.
"It was reported that a man was seen attempting to steal a bicycle locked up outside McDonalds on Mallard Way, at the Silverlink Shopping Park.
"When confronted by the owner of the bicycle, the man then allegedly alluded to having a weapon and threatened the victim before fleeing the area.
"Enquiries are ongoing to locate the suspect."
Anyone with any information should contact police via their 'Tell Us Something' page on their website using reference number NP-20220211-1252.
