Hampshire Constabulary

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after a man was robbed at knifepoint whilst walking through the subway between Cornwallis Crescent and Commercial Road in Portsmouth with his three-year-old daughter.

At 9.30am yesterday, Tuesday, December 2, the 28-year-old man from Fratton was going shopping, and as he walked through the subway, he felt a hand on his shoulder, as someone turned him around.

The man who had stopped him said, “Money! Wallet!” and spoke with an accent. The man who was with his daughter then noticed that the man who had stopped him held a penknife in his right hand.

He handed over his wallet as he was concerned for the safety of his daughter. The man with the accent then said, “Phone, phone, phone!” and so the man gave him his mobile phone.

The offender then ran away, towards the area of Buckland.

The man and his daughter suffered no physical injuries as a result of the incident. The wallet contained a bank card and a photo, along with £180 in cash, and a birth certificate. The mobile was a black and silver Samsung Tocco.

The man with the knife is described as:

• Olive skinned
• Aged in his mid to late 20s
• 6ft tall
• Medium build
• Had a foreign accent, possibly Turkish or middle eastern
• Dark stubble
• Wearing a light brown or tan coloured hat, which had fold down ear covers, a dark waist length jacket which appeared to be made out of Nylon, white tracksuit bottoms which had stripes down the sides, and white trainers.

Detective Constable Jon Knox said, “This was a despicable offence, made ever worse by the fact that the man carried out the robbery with a child present. The father and daughter were on their way to do some Christmas shopping when they were robbed. “I would advise people not to carry large sums of money when they are out and about – it is safer to withdraw the money you need from a bank or cash machine when you are near to where you need to go.”