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Dangerous Towpaths - 'No Go' Area - Hackney


ChrisJBrady

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Cyclist attacked by masked men says Hackney canal path is 'too dangerous' to use

A cyclist beaten and robbed by masked men on a popular route in Hackney says it has become “too dangerous”.

Andy Biddle, 34, was cycling home along a canal path by the Lea on a Tuesday evening when he was attacked.

“It was my first day at my new job,” said the film animator, who lives in Walthamstow. “When I got to Hackney Marshes I noticed a moped, which I thought was kids messing around.

“I cycled off the path to let them past and they slowed down. I started to feel frightened. I don’t know why but I thought if I cycled into the park I would be safer but, obviously, it’s darker and when I got into the park I slipped on my bike and lost my momentum.

“That was when I looked over my shoulder and saw the two guys walking towards me. They shouted, ‘Give me your stuff,’ and then I don’t remember how it happened but I was suddenly on the floor and was aware I had been hit.

“One of them said, ‘Do you want me to hit you again or are you going to do what we say?’ So I gave them my wallet with cards and money in it.

cana1l.jpg
Mr Biddle said he fears canal paths in the area are becoming a no-go area for cyclists

“When they turned around to go they said, ‘You had better not call the police — we know where you live.’”

The robbers took £40 cash and spent £200 in contactless payments before Mr Biddle could cancel his card. He said: “I went to work the next day but ended up breaking down in front of my new colleagues so they sent me to hospital.

"The day after I didn’t leave the house, even to go to the pharmacy in the daytime — I was too shaken up and teary.

"The whole thing was really scary, especially when you are down in the mud staring up at guys wearing masks.”

As well as being traumatised by the attack on January 3, he was left with a scratched cornea and a bruised retina, which needs two months’ treatment.

Mr Biddle said he fears canal paths in the area are becoming a no-go area for cyclists after a spate of attacks.

He said: “It needs to be sorted. It is a cycle path but it is too dangerous to use. I now go the long way to work and I don’t cycle as much and I know people who used to use it but are now too scared.”

Christina Kime, 26, and Drew McEwan, 30, were robbed by two men on bikes as they walked through the Olympic Park at 10.30pm on December 22.

Police confirmed two further incidents last month. On December 21, shortly after 10pm, a man in his twenties suffered a slash wound to the hand after he was mugged of his phone and wallet by two suspects less than a mile away, next to Parnell Road Bridge.

Just before midnight on December 23, another man reported having two phones and a wallet stolen by two men carrying knives in Mandeville Street.

The Met said: “Police were called to a robbery between 7.55pm and 8.20pm at Daubeney Road on January 3. There have been no arrests but enquiries continue.”

Anyone with information can call police on 101 or tweet via @MetCC.

Linked from:

 

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/cyclist-attacked-by-masked-men-says-hackney-canal-path-is-too-dangerous-to-use-a3447081.html

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Sounds awful, there's nothing new about mugging in that area though. Not so many years ago most of the towpath was that bad, from kensal right through to Tottenham.

I was then going to say just like the good old days when there were no boats moored there

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I was then going to say just like the good old days when there were no boats moored there

That's the era I was thinking about, it went from badlands to worse. Other than little venice, most of London was devoid of boats, and any pedestrians were probably gangsters!

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That's the era I was thinking about, it went from badlands to worse. Other than little venice, most of London was devoid of boats, and any pedestrians were probably gangsters!

Yes, last time I went through London to the Lee and Stort there were boats moored long term in places I wouldn't have considered stopping for lunch even years ago.

That is one good thing the London Live Aboards has done and that is displace a lot of them.

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'alternative facts'..? I don't suppose the media let reality get in the way of a good story.

 

Whilst the picture is very obviously the wrong waterway I can't see any evidence that the main story is untrue, and a google search seems to find a history of attacks along the canals of Hackney, not exactly a crime wave but certainly more than one.

 

A few years ago, on the Hertford Union, I was doing a survey of the canal with a colleague who came from the area, we were using bikes. He suddenly pulled up, braking sharply. He'd spotted that the "youths" ahead of us had disappeared and his instinctive reaction was that they hadn't actually left the towpath but simply gone out of view. I can't recall the exact details, it may have been that they should have reappeared somewhere but hadn't. He insisted on waiting and eventually, after what felt like a heck of a long time, they emerged, looked back towards us and seemed to realise they'd been rumbled. They walked back past us with an attempt at nonchalance...

 

I can't honestly say they had malice aforethought but I certainly wouldn't discount it

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Why is this story accompanied by a photo of Barking Creek?

 

I can assure you that you won't get mugged in the spot the photo was taken, given that it's been an empty building site for a couple of years now.

That's never Barking is it? London Road bridge in the distance?

 

(Posts a Barking boy, who managed to escape aged 19)

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