Concrete issue 134 30 01 2002

Page 1

-----------------------------------------

Issue 134 路Wednesday, January 30, 2002

UEA'S AWARD-WINNING INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

FREE

....

KATIE HIND News Editor

TWO young males were mugged within just two days while walking through campus. On Tuesday, January 22, a second year student was held down at knifepoint as vicious thugs demanded he hand over his wallet and mobile phone. And just a day later another boy, who is not a student, was forced to hand over his phone too. The first incident, which involved an economics student happened as he walked along the path by DEV farm, towards Bluebell Road. The boy, who wishes to remain anonymous, was met by a pair of teenagers wearing hooded sweatshirts, who jumped out of some bushes and pushed him to the floor - before snatching his mobile phone and wallet, which contained just

拢4. "Two guys came out of the woods and as I walked past them one of them grabbed me by the neck, pushed my head forward and got me in the headlock. The other one pushed me to the floor face down while one of them went

through my pockets. "He found my mobile phone in my pocket and then they found my wallet in my bag and wanted to know the PIN number for my cash card . I refused to give it to them," he said. The student also revealed how he was threatened with a knife unless he gave them the correct number to access his account. "One of them said to the other to get the knife and he started slapping what felt like a knife against my leg. I gave them a fake number and the other one said he was going to the cash point to check if it was right and if it was wrong he said he would break my neck. "I wouldn't walk along there on my own at night again, I always walk that way and I ~ave never seen anyone there before," he said. Just 24 hours later, a pair of youths accosted a 14-year-old boy as he walked between Nelson Court and the Breakers end of The Street. They took his mobile phone. DC Maria James of Norfolk Police said that the robbers have not been caught and shE\ is not ruling out the possibility that the incidents are linked . "The circumstances are similar and we are investigating them, as well as collating other incidents that have happened on the campus recently. We are tryi~g to

nip it in the bud as soon as possible," said DC James. But University Security Co-ordinator, Ron Elliot, does not think students should be panicked by the muggings. "This type of incident is very rare, it is so long ago since we have had anything similar and there's no way of knowing if they are connected or if we are talking about the same individuals," said Mr Elliot. Union Welfare Officer, Polly Evans, warns students that they shou Id take the same precautions on campus as they do in other areas of the city. "We must all remember that campus differs from no other part of town and we must all adopt the same security measures. I would advise all students to take further caution following this event," said Polly. And she insists that steps should be taken to prevent any more incidents of this kind. "UEA has always been very proud of being a campus where all students could feel safe and anything that threatens this is serious. " Anyone with any information should contact DC James on 01603 768769.

Pages 2-3: an extended investigation into crime and security at UEA Page 9: Comment

SPORT- RALLY DRIVER COLIN McRAE INTERVIEWED ON PAGES 20-21


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.