Young mother with toddler robbed at knifepoint in affluent London suburb suffering 'crime epidemic'

A young mother walking with her toddler son was robbed at knifepoint by masked thugs in an affluent London suburb suffering an “epidemic” of violent crime.

Police have stepped up patrols in Queen’s Park, north-west London, to combat the reported spike in attacks while the local MP has organised a police summit.

Residents in the district, popular with families and celebrities including Thandie Newton, Sienna Miller, Ian Wright, say they are coming under daily attack. Last week a teenager ran screaming into the local Jubilee leisure centre covered in blood after being stabbed repeatedly in the street.

Resident Rosalind Lerner, 61, said she was walking her dog when she was attacked by a lone moped rider. She said: “I was in shock. There was nowhere to run, there was no one to help me. He pushed me down and took the phone. All he said was, ‘F****** give me that’. And then he just got back on his bike and rode off.

“He was completely covered, I couldn’t see his face - it was like a monster coming for you. I keep feeling that hand on me, I keep seeing the gloved hand.”

Local police have told residents that a section 60 notice has been put in place following last week’s stabbing, giving officers greater powers of stop and search.

Tulip Siddiq, the Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, said the attack on the mother and child in Kilburn was just one of the muggings reported by “shell-shocked” residents on an almost daily basis.

She has called a summit later this month for victims of crime in her constituency to meet police chiefs from Brent and Camden boroughs. She told the Standard: “Something needs to be done.

“It’s not new that your phone gets snatched out of your hand, it happened to me 10 years ago. But they are getting more and more fearless. They’re doing it in broad daylight and then just driving away. It’s quite traumatic, people seem very shell-shocked.”

Neil Nerva, a Labour councillor for Queen’s Park, said: “Local residents are looking for reassurance, it’s become an epidemic. It’s important that the police treat this seriously.”

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Met officers from Operation Venice, which tackles scooter, motorcycle and moped crime, are increasing tactical options to identify suspects involved in this type of crime.”

The summit is at 5pm on October 26 at the Swiss Cottage Community Centre.