Children walking to school have become the latest targets of phone snatchers as schools issue urgent warning to parents.
City of London Academy Shoreditch Park said a number of pupils were falling victim to ‘males in balaclavas’ trying to steal mobiles.
In a letter sent home, the school revealed a child was stopped on their way into school on Wednesday on Balmes Road, Islington.
They wrote: ‘Unfortunately, another one of our students was stopped by five young males in balaclavas and asked for their phone.
‘The student did not have a phone on them and so the incident was over quickly, with them unharmed.’
The school added they had seen a number of robberies reporter to them, and have had to bring in patrol cars to make sure their pupils are safe.
But they also urged parents to not let their children coming into school with their devices, despite many travelling independently on a morning.
They said: ‘As ever, it is vital that students do not bring their phones to school so that they do not become targets for this kind of criminal activity.
‘This reduces the potential for our students to be victims of crime.’
A mum, Tara, wrote online her son attended George Mitchell School in Leyton.
She said: ‘My son was followed by two youths in balaclavas and he went into a friend’s house and waited for them to leave. His friend’s phone was stolen the day after.
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‘The school are aware and sending emails saying pupils need to walk in pairs, but now my son is scared to even walk our dog.’
Snatch thefts increased by 150% in London over the last year, with one phone stolen in the capital every six minutes.
More than 200 suspected phone snatchers were arrested in the space of a week, and 1,000 mobiles were recovered.
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In footage released by the Metropolitan Police, one plain clothed police officer is seen spotting a phone snatcher, in a dark blue backwards baseball cap and black jacket in Oxford Circus.
The thief had targeted an elderly person in the tourist hot spot, but one officer spotted the attack and tackled him to the ground in front of shocked pedestrians.
Other footage shows moped drivers snatching devices out of the hands of people walking along pavements and waiting at bus stops.
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