Knifepoint robbery victim reveals fear he had for his life during robbery

A MAN confronted by masked robbers in Newport, one of whom tried to stab him with a knife, has spoken of his terror and said he thought he was going to die.

Harry Mitchell, from Swffryd, was walking from Stow Hill to Corporation Road when he was confronted by two men on Sunday night.
He said: “I was walking near Chem Park (Lysaght’s Park) when the two men came up behind me. 

“One tapped me on my shoulder and when I turned around and they were wearing these black masks, like hats with the eyes and mouth cut out.

“They asked for the time and told me ‘check your phone’ and he showed me this knife. So I showed him my phone, because you’re not going to mess with that. He said ‘See there’s no need to be scared’ sarcastically and ran to his mate who at this point had carried on walking."

Mr Mitchell said it was at this point that he crossed the road to get away from the men.

“I crossed the road and they looked at me and then ran across the road to me. They came over and said ‘Give me your phone.’,” he added.

“One of them kicked me, so I gave them the phone to them and they asked for money. I said I didn’t have any.

“Then they asked for the phone password and when I gave them my old one by mistake they were screaming ‘that’s not right’ and started kicking me again. 

“When I remembered the right password, I gave it to them. 

“But then the one with a knife tried to stab me. 

“Then he told me ‘Run, I know where you live’.”

Mr Mitchell managed call his grandmother from a nearby Chinese takeaway, before calling police.

The 20-year-old, who has suffered with mental health issues in the past, including an anxiety disorder, said he suffered a panic attack after the ordeal.

“When I go to sleep I close my eyes and I relive it all again,” he said.

“The past few nights I have only had an hour and a half sleep.

“I can see the knife, I feel how I felt. This has scarred me.”

A Gwent Police spokeswoman said: “We are appealing for information following a robbery which took place on Corporation Road between 10.30pm and 10.50pm on Sunday, November 19.

“The first male is described as black, around 18-years-old and approximately 5ft 10in in height and spoke with a local accent. 

“He was of a slim build, wearing a black, hooded top and a black bobble hat which had been pulled of his face to conceal his identity.

“He was also wearing grey jogging bottoms of a shiny polyester material with a shiny silver stripe down the legs. 

“The second male is described as black, around 5ft 8in in height, is of a slim build, was wearing a black hooded top and had a similar hat to the first male, which was again pulled over his face. 

“He was wearing black jogging bottoms of a cotton material. 

“We believe this is an isolated incident and would ask anyone with any information to call 101 quoting log 537 19/11/17.”