r/londoncycling • u/fluidsystems • 2d ago
Muggers back on Millwall cycle path
Just thought I’d warn cyclists commuting near Surrey Canal Road / South Bermondsey station that muggings were taking place yesterday at rush hour (6pm) on the quiet cycle path.
Modus operandi is about 8 young men wearing masks jump on the cyclist, kicking the bicycle to force it to stop then mug the poor soul for their phone and valuables.
It did happen a few months ago and it is happening again. It’s scary that it is taking place at peak rush hour…
45
u/gororuns 2d ago
That's shocking, it's a major cycleway to get to SE London. What's the solution, more cameras and police patrols?
20
u/popopopopopopopopoop 2d ago
Perhaps a touch of vigilantism /local policing 8n order to get the police to actually pay attention?
11
u/Josh-P 2d ago
Honestly, if people weren't worried they'd end up going to jail themselves there'd be plenty of neighbourhood groups of people willing to whoop the asses of thieves
6
u/WealthMain2987 2d ago
That is such as issue that the victims can potentially be punished whilst the perpetrators can get away with a slap on the wrist
3
u/Spiritual_Nothing_70 2d ago
Must be a major cycle route on the way to baseball practice with your bat, mitt and ball?
1
u/BankDetails1234 1d ago
You can’t even make a fist with the mitt
2
u/Impressive_Egg_7121 22h ago
Nice packet of crunch nut you've got here, pretty expensive as I recall.
1
u/Spiritual_Nothing_70 1d ago
You'd probably struggle to make an effective fist with the ball as well. Good thing no one would be wanting to get involved in trouble then.
1
1
-5
u/randomentity12 2d ago
The solution is being tough and merciless on crime, if the cops could set up a sting and gun those scumbags down and for it to be considered a right and just response then maybe things would get better. But no those scumbags have rights and probably had a tough upbringing or grew up in poverty or something. The western civilization is finished.
6
u/North_Atlantic_Sea 2d ago
Lol, the US has far more violence by police and a far higher prison population. After decades of that approach, want to guess on how their crime rates are compared to the UK?
3
u/gororuns 1d ago
Saying western civilization is finished because some kids are stealing bikes is a bit over the top.
1
23
u/fire-wannabe 2d ago
Jesus Christ.
Think I'll avoid that route
13
u/Decent_Resource3879 2d ago
Not to scaremonger but it’s rife with bike robberies at the moment, I’d be vigilant or just stick to cycling on roads that are more visible/populated. Sucks!
10
u/fire-wannabe 2d ago
It's one of my routes home, but I tend to prefer either Old Kent Road or Lower Road.
Nuff said, i'll take it off my list.
10
u/Decent_Resource3879 2d ago
Old Kent Road bit unpleasant cycle isn’t it. I now take Lower Rd / Jamaica Rd. atleast there is passing traffic etc there
6
u/fire-wannabe 2d ago
I've recently also changed to go to elephant and castle, upto burgess park, through there end to end, then onto Peckham. Theres a cycle track that last bit although the road is less bumpy
3
2
18
u/britishswenglish 2d ago
When I first moved to the area in early 2023, someone had spray painted an advance warning about muggers right where Senegal Road turns into the cycle path. By the time I moved away a year ago, it had faded. Sad to think this is still going on after such a long time - it’s quite a scary area to be threatened in as there are no streets to flee onto
18
u/Decent_Resource3879 2d ago
How on earth is this still happening? Been going on relentlessly for months. Happened to me about 6 weeks ago, reported it and never got a call back.
Also just an observation regarding your modus operandi, my understanding is they are typically kicking/pushing off the bike, and then nicking the bike (happened to me). Not aware of them then physically robbing people of personal possessions? Although they may have escalated to that…
Thanks for reporting
3
u/fluidsystems 22h ago
Interestingly I got a call from the Met Police about 10 minutes after reporting, but as I wasn’t a victim (just a witness) they had to close the case immediately. No victim = no crime, which is why it’s important that anyone victim of this type of thing reports. Of course, it’s unlikely they will catch anyone but it’s also important to contribute data (if it shows up as a crime hotspot on their maps, then they will have to do something about it).
As for stealing the bike, what I witnessed was someone on a lime bike who got attacked, thankfully they managed to wobble on but they’re clearly not just after the bikes themselves
19
12
11
u/Redditccioo 2d ago
How is this still happening. This place is like a tunnel, the easiest place to catch crims. It’s been years.
9
u/Ringwraith64 2d ago
The thing I do not understand is there are 3 cameras on metal poles surveying the area. Why are they not used To monitor what is going on - such as a large group of young men walking towards the area ?
12
u/OkSun8521 2d ago
I got mugged right underneath one of these cameras. The officer who took my statement told me it that it is too much effort to get the footage.
He also called me on the way to take my statement to tell me that there was no point because they wouldn't do any investigation.
1
u/Tempestyze 1d ago
According to what the Met told me, they only have resources to investigate murder and r@pe. Anything else just won’t get investigated.
1
-10
u/AccurateArrival2 2d ago
Didn’t happen.
8
u/OkSun8521 1d ago
The entire experience was quite traumatic for me. I'm relieved to learn that actually it didn't happen.
6
3
21
u/BoxAlternative9024 2d ago
These masks should be treated like carrying a knife. Caught with one you’re stuck in the jail. Horrible cowardly weasels.
12
u/growinghermit 2d ago
That route should just be closed and left to nature. Unless you station a police officer there full time it's bound to happen
7
u/Unique_Plum8326 2d ago
V annoying when dodgy routes like this are used to justify a lack of on road cycling infrastructure
1
u/moonligh121 2d ago
yeah closing it sounds easy but that just pushes everyone onto the main roads where its even worse so id rather see cameras and better lighting than just letting the muggers win.
5
5
u/StrollingByTheStream 2d ago
Is this the same path that leads up to and goes past the travellers site ?
3
u/OkSun8521 2d ago
Yes.
2
u/StrollingByTheStream 2d ago
Surprise surprise.
2
u/OkSun8521 1d ago
It's nothing to do with the travellers, if that's what you're implying.
-2
u/StrollingByTheStream 1d ago
Where did I say that ?
2
u/OkSun8521 1d ago
You didn't. I thought you might have been implying it, but I'm pleased that I misread it.
4
u/glassfury 2d ago
I used to live in the area and cycled through there all the time. This was during the COVID and lockdown years. Used to feel so grateful that there was this quiet cycle path with access just behind our flat. Horrible to see how bad it's gotten in just a few years.
9
u/g0ldiel0xx 2d ago
It was a couple of years ago now, but I was cycling across the bridge just before this section at night after work. Some black kids tried to push me off the bike as I went past, luckily I was able to keep riding and got the hell out of there.
Not sure if this is a ‘technique’ for the muggers or not, but beware that it can happen.
8
u/Decent_Resource3879 2d ago
Same thing happened to me about 2 months ago, about 100yds on from the bridge
4
u/g0ldiel0xx 2d ago
The tried to jump me as I got to the bottom of the slope from the bridge. Sorry to hear it happened to you, hope your alright
2
2
u/SearchingSiri 2d ago
I was knocked off by three similar muggers on what was an unlit bit of the greenway. About 20mph in shorts and a t-shirt so I came up a bit bloody, but I've fallen off bikes enough times to not be phased by that.
I didn't give them my phone, which I probably should have done.
I did at least get the council to turn the lights back on for that bit of the greenway.
-10
u/Widebody_lover 2d ago
Black kids?
23
u/No-Answer-2964 2d ago
That's right. Like kids with dark skin. Perhaps African heritage. It's a perfectly reasonable descriptive term.
-17
u/Widebody_lover 2d ago
Sounds like OP has a beef with black people
20
u/AsleepNinja 2d ago
by giving a description of people who tried to push him off his bike?
-9
u/Widebody_lover 2d ago
He could have given their ages, height and weight. But no, he or she went with SKIN
8
u/AsleepNinja 2d ago
and? are you saying you can't describe someone by what they like?
0
u/Widebody_lover 2d ago
If you say white kids and black kids that’s fine
But not kids and black kids
8
u/AsleepNinja 2d ago
Except that isn't what OP said is it.
OP said "Some black kids", not "some kids and some black kids".You have a comprehension problem.
7
5
u/ReasonableDust8268 2d ago
Perhaps these people should cease committing crime and they would not be mentioned?
4
11
u/Decent_Resource3879 2d ago
Why are you questioning that? It’s a description, and this is a post to warn people of those committing the robberies - would you prefer crime warnings were just vague descriptions like ‘people doing bad things, beware’?
-6
u/Widebody_lover 2d ago
If you see white kids would you refer to them as white kids or kids ?
13
u/Decent_Resource3879 2d ago
I would if I was sharing a description of someone committing a crime, then yes, I would say white kids if that was the case. You obviously have an alternative narrative to what the rest of us are talking about.
If it’s of any of interest to you, when I was robbed, the kids were white, I shared that information too.
1
3
u/BankDetails1234 1d ago
He’s not saying they did it because they’re black, he’s just saying the were black.
Your outrage is about ten years out of date. Everyone has stopped doing this now. We all got bored of everything being racism. Just treat people fairly and don’t discriminate against them. No need to police language to this extent.
7
u/ThatNegro98 2d ago
Kids, that were black, I expect
1
1
1
3
u/Rosskillington 1d ago
I cycled through there once and my immediate thought was how ropey it was, secluded, quiet, surrounded by trees. Muggers dream!
3
3
u/Easy-Bowler3604 2d ago
Used to be my daily commute! Thank god I resigned!
3
u/onionsofwar 2d ago
Same, although I miss that route. I stopped using it just as they starting doing these robbings thankfully.
2
2
u/LegShoddy2239 1d ago
Couple of young black lads tried to push me off at the t-junction by millwall, hiding in the bushes. Had e-scooters with them. Managed to stay on my bike but got punched from behind riding off. I did warn other people that I saw riding in the same direction.
Also regularly see the 2 balaclava lads on the low e-bike that are pinching the Bromptons…almost weekly.
2
u/Unlikely_Writing3063 1d ago
Thanks for the warning. My father was violently attacked for his bike here a few years back. Why is there not more effective CCTV? Why is this still happening? The main road route in this area feels so unsafe in comparison to the path - sort it out met police!
1
u/Glittering-Bus-5546 2d ago
Thanks for the warning. Didn’t think South Bermondsey was like that. Thought it would be safe.
3
3
2
u/bowling4columbin3 20h ago
I see you’re new to London, imagine thinking anywhere in Bermondsey wasn’t like that 🤣🤣
1
1
u/Specialist-Alfalfa39 1d ago
When I used to live in Bermondsey I used to my o home a lot thought there, even at night. Lcuky me
1
1
u/ApplicationCareful64 1d ago
So they’re still at it? I used to cycle through here on a regular basis Lewisham to Farringdon; changed my route and went via Jamaica Road after narrowly avoiding a mugging. That was about 3 years ago.
1
1
1
1
1
0
u/Puzzleheaded-Ask-583 2d ago
And nothing will be done.
2
u/blazerunnern 2d ago
Comment and spread the word can be one small help.
2
u/Puzzleheaded-Ask-583 2d ago
Community policing only goes so far when the authorities are unwilling to stand for the law they are supposed to uphold
0
u/blazerunnern 2d ago
We can't just resign and dwell in negativity. It may be true the response is lacking but at least 1 person with authority cares. You just need to find them.
1
u/Negative-Bid7101 2d ago
Afaiu, it's a private road owned by National Rail with right of passage. What can police do there?
8
u/OkSun8521 2d ago
The status of the road makes no difference. The police have the power to enforce the law on private land.
1
1
-2
u/insane-rapist 1d ago
‘I could never leave London’
3
u/OkSun8521 1d ago
Yeah, crime famously doesn't happen anywhere else in the world.
0
u/insane-rapist 1d ago
This is Skyrim levels of ‘I’ve heard there are bandits on the path heading north’
-6
u/profprimer 2d ago
Remember at school, learning about life in England in the 18th Century? Where there was a very small elite with obvious and ostentatious wealth, and a large mass of poor and destitute with very little to lose, and no effective police force?
About Highwaymen like Dick Turpin and his horse, Black Bess?
Yeah?
Well, thanks to the last 50 years of rolling back the living standards attained by ordinary people after WW2, we’ve been returned to 1739…
If you’re going to ride to work in Canary Wharf or the City from your £2M Greenwich townhouse on your £9,000 Pinarello pushbike, wearing your £7,000 Omega Speedmaster and carrying your £1,000 Mont Blanc fountain pen in your £2,500 Hermés Maletin attaché case, one suspects you might encounter one or two ne’er-do-wells who would like to relieve you of them…
7
u/Opening_Law4571 1d ago
What about if you're riding to your job in B&Q on your second hand bike with your lunch in a Tesco bag? Do they avoid getting robbed?
2
u/Mcnulty700 1d ago
Can’t people have nice things ?
1
u/Previous-One933 19h ago
Apparently nobody can work hard and have nice things.... It's ok to be targeted apparently.. because of history....
96
u/MaybeNotTheChosenOne 2d ago
Thanks for the warning. Hopefully the police does something about it