Comedian Michael McIntyre robbed by armed muggers on a moped in London
Popular comedian Michael McIntrye was robbed whilst waiting outside his son's school on Monday afternoon, in a terrifying attack.
The 42-year-old was sat in his car outside his children's school in Golders Green, London, when two men on a moped came up and smashed his window with a hammer, before stealing his Rolex watch.
Terrifyingly, it's thought that Michael's 10-year-old son Oscar was also in the car, having just been picked up by his father. Michael has another son, Lucas, 13, although it is not clear if he was there at the time.
The Metropolitan Police revealed that they had been called to the scene at around 2pm. They said, "The victim was stationary in his car when two males on a moped smashed the car windows with a hammer before stealing property."
Another onlooker told the Daily Mail, "The guy at the front of the moped started to hit the driver's window about 10 to 15 times and it eventually just cracked."
Witnesses on the scene at the time have since reported that Michael attempted to fight off the burglars, before they eventually stole his watch, reported to be worth around £15,000.
Another onlooker told the Daily Mail, "He opens the door and gets Michael McIntyre out of the car. Michael fell but he was still trying to put up a fight.
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"I just remember one of the bikers trying to get something. I don't know what the guy was trying to get - a watch, a wallet, maybe?"
Others revealed how the popular comedian attempted to comfort his shaken son in the aftermath of the terrifying ordeal.
Reportedly, police are now investigating whether or not the attackers followed the BAFTA-award winning comedian from his £5.7 million mansion in Hampstead Heath, not far from his son's school.
Despite the scary incident, Michael's PR Gary Farrow has insisted that the comedian is "fine".
Moped crimes have been slowly increasing over the last few years - particularly in the capital. However, the past year has seen a huge surge in these types of crimes - with attackers launching at victims from their mopeds, and speeding off quickly afterwards.
In fact, according to the Financial Times, the number of these sort of offences has risen from 1,000 in 2014, to more than 16,000 in the year to last June.
Moped crimes range from stealing a mobile phone, to the horrific offence of throwing acid at someone. The Metropolitan Police suggest protecting your property, while on the street or at a tube station, by being aware of your surroundings, and by refraining from texting while walking.
They also suggest that it could also be beneficial to increase security measures on your phone - by perhaps adding finger print or facial recognition - so that the device and its information cannot be accessed by thieves.
Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist specialising in homes, interiors and hobbies. She began her career working as the features assistant at woman&home magazine, before moving over to the digital side of the brand where she eventually became the Lifestyle Editor up until January 2022. Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards in 2019 for her work on womanandhome.com.
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