Colchester facing robbery epidemic as Essex Police launches probe

One incident saw a man surrounded by ten people at the city’s bus station and punched in the stomach as the crooks stole his luxury watch.

Another man was punched in the mouth when he refused to hand over his phone in Vineyard Street.

Despite the worrying epidemic, Insp Stuart Austin said: “Colchester does remain a really safe place to live, work, or visit.”

Robbery - a man was robbed of his luxury watch while waiting for a bus in Osborne Street (Image: Newsquest)

The spree of attacks took place over just six days between Tuesday last week and Sunday.

Last Tuesday, a man walking through Castle Park was demanded to empty the contents of his bag and hand them over in broad daylight.

The next day a man walking through Vineyard Street at about 6.30pm was stopped in the street and told to hand over his phone.

He refused and was shoved by the thug before then being punched in the mouth by a criminal accomplice.

Reassurance - Insp Stuart Austin, right, with PC Dex Adams and PCSO Sarah Hardy in Greenstead (Image: Essex Police)

Epidemic - a spree of attacks have taken place in Colchester over the past week (Image: Newsquest)

A woman was grabbed and forced to hand over loose change from within her bag at about 10.40pm in Cowdray Avenue on June 1.

And on June 2, a person was shoved to the floor and told to empty his pockets in St John's Walk.

About an hour later, another man was robbed of his bike having been told “you’ve got ten seconds to hand over your bike” or face violence in Recreation Road, Old Heath.

A man waiting for a bus in Osborne Street was surrounded by a group of seven men and three women at 6pm on June 3.

He was forced to hand over his luxury Omega Seamaster watch and was punched while he did so.

Mugged - a man was forced to empty his bag and hand over the contents to a suspect in Castle Park (Image: Newsquest)

And about 45 minutes later a man was robbed of his chain in Pelham’s Lane, which connects High Street with Culver Street West.

Then another person was forced to give crooks his neck chain on June 4 in Magnolia Drive, Greenstead.

The latest figures reveal there were 19 fewer robberies in Colchester in the year to April compared to the 12 months between April 2018 and 2019.

A total of 175 robberies were reported to the police in Colchester between April 2022 and 2023.

Police inspector offers reassurance to Colchester residents

Insp Stuart Austin, of Colchester Community Policing Team, said officers are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry in relation to the incidents.

“At this stage we believe several may be linked to the same group of suspects,” he said.

“The majority of these incidents thankfully did not involve a weapon, although we understand the unquestionable distress caused by any offence of this nature.

“The Town Centre Team – which has seen increased investment to put more officers in Colchester – is working hard to identify those involved.

“Colchester benefits from high-quality CCTV covering the city centre and we are reviewing any relevant footage as our investigation continues.

“It is important to emphasise Colchester does remain a really safe place to live, work, or visit.”

Mr Austin said the number of robberies recorded in Colchester in the 12 months to April fell by nine per cent when compared with the same period in 2019.

He added: “We take a proactive approach tackling the issue and investing in resources to keep our communities safe.

“We also rely on the intelligence we receive from the people of Colchester, and would urge anyone with information to come forward.”