Man robbed at knifepoint for his lunchbox

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A MAN was robbed at knifepoint for his empty lunchbox.

The victim was walking through the underpass off Harport Road between Lodge Park and Greenlands about 7.25pm last Thursday (September 20) when he was approached from behind by two men and another from the front who pulled out a Stanley knife.

The man, who was in his 20s, was ordered to hand over his valuables and although he tried to fight them off and managed to stop them stealing his mobile phone, he fell to the floor and suffered a cut hand during the scuffle.

He managed to get up and run away but the robbers had managed to grab a small black bag from him which had long string handles.

But they would have been disappointed to find later on it only contained the victim's empty lunchbox.

The robbers were all Asian, aged between 20 and 24, about five feet six inches tall, of medium build and wore hooded tops with the hoods up. One of them had on a top with an urban camouflage design and one of the others was wearing beige trousers.

Det Con Dave Jennings, of Redditch CID, said: "Fortunately the victim's injuries did not require medical treatment but obviously he was pretty shaken up by this.

"It was a senseless robbery in that all they managed to steal was an empty lunchbox. However the use of a knife is very worrying and it is essential we catch these men."

Anyone with any information is urged to contact Det Con Jennings at Redditch CID on the non-emergency 101 number, quoting incident reference 562-S-200912,or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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