Bedminster robbery, 26 November 2009 - police appeal for witnesses

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the British Transport Police press release:

TRANSPORT POLICE APPEAL FOR WITNESSES AFTER STUDENT ROBBED AT BEDMINSTER

British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)) officers are appealing for witnesses to come forward after a man was robbed of his wallet, mobile phone and Ipod at Bedminster railway station in Bristol.

The incident took place in an underpass at the station at about 3pm on Thursday 26 November.

Detective Constable Danny Murphy said the 18-year-old victim was left badly shaken after two men followed him into the underpass before throwing him to the ground and stealing his possessions.

DC^▸ (Direct Current) Murphy said: ^The victim had left college and went to Bedminster railway station to catch a train home. When he reached the subway at the station, he noticed two men aged about 16-20 were following him. One of the men grabbed the victim^s backpack from behind, causing him to fall to the ground. One pinned him down while the other demanded his wallet and mobile phone. The men rifled through his pockets and took his wallet, phone and also his Ipod player. One of the men kicked the victim in the back of his head before the pair made off from the station.^

The items taken were a black HTC hero G2 touch phone valued at about ^350, a wallet containing a small amount of cash and a purple coloured Ipod Nano with white earphones and worth about ^120.

Both robbers are described as being white men. One is aged about 18-20, over 6ft, of proportionate build, with short, light-coloured hair and clean shaven. He wore glasses and a dark top, dark trousers and black gloves.

The second man is described as being about 16 years old, about 5ft 9in, of slim build and clean shaven. He was wearing dark blue clothing and a blue, chequered beanie hat which covered his ears.

DC Murphy said: ^I would appeal to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the vicinity of Bedminster station on the afternoon of Thursday 26 November to come forward. Also, if anyone recognises the description of the two men then we would also like to hear from them.^

Anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 quoting incident number 348 of the 26/11/2009.

[bemmy]

I'm not surprised that such a thing would happen in that underpass, in there you are hidden away and vulnerable. Surely it wants CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele-Vision) now that Bedminster is a fairly well-used station with a decent service, and passenger numbers would surely increase further if the place wasn't so totally unwelcoming.

[Brucey]

I've only ever been to Bedminster station once, but didn't travel as it was quicker to walk to BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI) but BTM is a commonly used alternative)) rather than wait for the next train, so I never actually entered the station (just looked at the boards before the underpass).  Is there any other entrance to the station, other than via the underpass?

[bemmy]

No. Back in the 80s there were exits beyond both the platforms at the Temple Meads end, you walked between the tracks and down some dark steps onto a road passing under the railway... so that wasn't much better, and they were bricked up years ago.

It's funny to think that in those days Bedminster had four platforms and three exits.... and only two or three trains per day.