Avon and Somerset Police are investigating a robbery in Taunton which saw two teenagers "deliberately driven at" and threatened by a suspect who stole their bikes.

The victims are both 13 and were cycling on Roman Road at around 4.40pm on Sunday 29 January when they were deliberately driven at by the driver of a silver Ford.

Officers believe it may be a B-Max or C-Max model with a sliding door on the side and have released CCTV images of the vehicle in question.

The two young cyclists were threatened in the incident and had their bikes stolen, leaving them unharmed but shaken by the robbery.

Police described one of the bikes as a black Apollo Slant, with white writing on and a 17-inch frame, while the second was a black Muddy Fox Anarchy 100 model, with blue writing on.

An appeal for witnesses and dashcam footage has been launched, with officers keen to speak to anyone in the area at the time who might have unknowingly captured the vehicle on dashcam, doorbell or CCTV footage.

"If you can help, please call us," a spokesperson for the force said.

"We want to speak to anyone who saw this incident, or anyone in the local area who may have dashcam or doorbell/CCTV footage, showing the incident, or the vehicle involved in this offence.

"If you can help, please call 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5223022805, or complete our online appeals form (link is external)."

Last weekend's incident came days after a woman was arrested by police in Cheltenham after a teenager was robbed of his bike at knifepoint.

Police were called to Fairmount Road, a residential road close to Cheltenham railway station, shortly after 3.35pm when a report was received that a woman had threatened the teenager and his friends with a Stanley knife, before taking his bike.

Officers attending the incident undertook searches in the area and identified a woman matching the description of the suspect, and who was in possession of the stolen bicycle, arresting the 25-year-old woman on suspicion of robbery.

https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-13-deliberately-driven-and-bikes-stolen-299137

On 07/02/2023 12:01 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> Avon and Somerset Police are investigating a robbery in Taunton which saw two teenagers "deliberately driven at" and threatened by a suspect who stole their bikes.
> The victims are both 13 and were cycling on Roman Road at around 4.40pm on Sunday 29 January when they were deliberately driven at by the driver of a silver Ford.
> Officers believe it may be a B-Max or C-Max model with a sliding door on the side and have released CCTV images of the vehicle in question.
> The two young cyclists were threatened in the incident and had their bikes stolen, leaving them unharmed but shaken by the robbery.
> Police described one of the bikes as a black Apollo Slant, with white writing on and a 17-inch frame, while the second was a black Muddy Fox Anarchy 100 model, with blue writing on.
> An appeal for witnesses and dashcam footage has been launched, with officers keen to speak to anyone in the area at the time who might have unknowingly captured the vehicle on dashcam, doorbell or CCTV footage.
> "If you can help, please call us," a spokesperson for the force said.
> "We want to speak to anyone who saw this incident, or anyone in the local area who may have dashcam or doorbell/CCTV footage, showing the incident, or the vehicle involved in this offence.
> "If you can help, please call 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5223022805, or complete our online appeals form (link is external)."
> Last weekend's incident came days after a woman was arrested by police in Cheltenham after a teenager was robbed of his bike at knifepoint.
> Police were called to Fairmount Road, a residential road close to Cheltenham railway station, shortly after 3.35pm when a report was received that a woman had threatened the teenager and his friends with a Stanley knife, before taking his bike.
> Officers attending the incident undertook searches in the area and identified a woman matching the description of the suspect, and who was in possession of the stolen bicycle, arresting the 25-year-old woman on suspicion of robbery.
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-13-deliberately-driven-and-bikes-stolen-299137

If there were no demand from other fairy-cyclists for stolen
fairy-cycles (and parts) "on the cheap", there would be no point in such
incidents.

Fairy-cycle theft has that much in common with pornographic images of
children. The consumers may not take the photos themselves, or subject
the victims to the direct abuse they suffer, but they are the economic
cause of it.

pockstone replied to Secret_squirrel | 713 posts | 29 min ago
0 likes
QUOTE:
Interesting to see what (if any) charges ensue. Would 'armed robbery ' be countenanced given the authorities unwillingness to prosecute obvious 'use of a car as a weapon'. Or robbery with violence? Hopefully they'll get the book thrown at them but I shan't be holding my breath. ENDS

Courts are taking sentencing of attacks on children, women and other vulnerable groups MUCH MORE seriously nowadays - why should this attack be any different?

On Tue, 7 Feb 2023 04:01:40 -0800 (PST)
"swldx...@gmail.com" <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> Police described one of the bikes as a black Apollo Slant, with white
> writing on and a 17-inch frame, while the second was a black Muddy
> Fox Anarchy 100 model, with blue writing on.
>
Jeez how stupid are these criminals? Risking jail for a couple of BSOs.
I wonder if it was more about intimidating the kids than taking the
bikes.