Armed Robbers Transforming Exclusive London Streets into No-Go Zones

Mayfair, King’s Road, and Bond Street rank high among the most exclusive postcodes in the lively core of the city’s capital. However, having a prestigious address does not shield residents from crime.

Even celebrities like Jamie Laing from Made in Chelsea and Christine Lampard from Loose Women are not exempt from the audacious criminals who brazenly target this area. No level of fame, wealth, or public adoration seems to deter these perpetrators from stealing luxury items.

Reports reveal instances where gangs have forcefully taken shiny Rolexes off the wrists of unsuspecting pedestrians, grabbed expensive mobile phones straight from people’s hands, and gone as far as breaking car windows to snatch £1,000 Stone Island jackets.

In February alone, 2,097 thefts were recorded in London’s West End, which includes some of the capital’s most exclusive areas including, Mayfair, Fitzrovia, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street.

It comes as the wife of Jenson Button revealed she now feels ‘unsafe’ in the bustling city after her suitcase rammed with £250,000 of lavish jewellery and designers handbags was stolen outside of St Pancras station. 

The 34-year-old explained how the ex-Formula One driver was helping the chauffer load the car when a man swooped in and sped away with her Goyard carry-on suitcase in mere seconds. 

The former Playboy model told MailOnline that neither she nor her husband had any interest in returning to the UK following their ordeal, adding: ‘It just feels so unsafe… and its just unfortunate because that’s where my children’s grandmother and aunts live.’ 

And it was only last March that  TV personality Jamie Laing revealed he had been robbed once again, just a week after his Notting Hill home was targeted by balaclava-wearing intruders. 

Shortly after the terrifying ordeal, where he and his wife Sophie Habboo, 30, were woken up to 6am by louds bangs, the former rugby player discovered his car had been broken into. 

Speaking on his Radio 1 show, Jamie said: ‘So, I live in London, I was with my wife Sophie and we went to get in our car.

‘It’s parked around the place we live, and it’s London right, things maybe go missing occasionally or whatever.

‘I walked up to the car, and the car looked a little bit funny, the door was slightly open, and I was like, ‘hang on a second, has someone managed to get into the car?’

‘Came up to the car and we had been robbed. They left the pineapple in one seat and the melon in another seat. I said to my wife, ‘did you leave these in the car?’ and she was like, ‘no?’, so I don’t know if it’s a sign or the mark they leave.’

Elsewhere in Knightsbridge, a Tesla car owner also fell victim to theft after a masked cyclist smashed the vehicle’s rear window and stole a £1,000 Stone Island jacket, which was recently purchased from Harrods. 

Shocking footage obtained from the expensive American car shows up the moment the brazen thief spotted the car, parked up his bike and then smashed the back window.

The CCTV system gave a clear picture of the cycling thief’s body, but due to his face covering, police have almost no chance of a description as all that was visible was his eyes. 

The cyclist, who was wearing full riding gear including a luminous jacket, leggings, could then be seen brazenly pedalling off with the Stone Island bag clearly visible in his hand.

However pedalling yobs aren’t London’s only issue and Mr Laing isn’t the only celebrity to have fallen victim the city’s shameless crooks. 

Loose Women presenter Christine revealed last year that she too had her phone snatched on the fashionable King’s Road.

While discussing the ordeal with co-stars, Olivia Attwood, Judi Love and Brenda Edwards in November, she claimed a security guard shrugged and said ‘there’s at least 30 a day stolen’ her when she approached about the matter. 

After implying that the security guard did nothing to help, Christine said: ‘I can understand I’m not going to have a police task force looking for my phone for me.’

Veteran broadcaster Nicky Campbell was also nearly a victim of the notorious phone snatchers lurking around London’s busiest streets. 

The presenter took to his morning breakfast show on Radio 5 Live, to warn others, explaining how his phone was snatched out of his hand before he quickly took it back.  

Recalling the incident, he told his listeners: ‘Near Oxford Street. Guy just tried to grab my phone as I was on it.

‘His hand was on it. I snatched it back and shouted ‘f*** you’ and he ran off. Take care out there people’. 

Chartered Security Professional, James Bore, has urged pedestrians walking around the bustling capital city to stay alert and to put their mobile phones away.

‘Don’t have your phone walking around, don’t stare at it,’ he urged: ‘Do not appear like an easy targeted because you are distracted. 

‘If you don’t seem like an easy target, they will go after some who is.

The security expert from Bores Group added: ‘Look out for unusual behaviour. If someone is going to rip your Rolex of its because they have watched you and have seen you have something worth stealing.

‘I don’t mean that they’ve been stalking you for the last 5 days but they will have been keeping their eye on you to make sure that you are a target.

‘They will have been waiting until there’s space around you, or you’re in a crowd, and to pick their opportunity.

When asked if he would warn people to avoid wearing lavish items in these areas, he said: ‘At a certain point, and it’s a personal decision whether that risk is acceptable or not.’

Alas, phones aren’t the only desirable targets for brazen thieves, as several do not fear ripping watches straight from the wrists of unsuspecting victims with a Rolex ripping spree plaguing London’s most exclusive streets. 

Dramatic CCTV footage previously revealed the dramatic moment a ‘Rolex ripper’ gang mistakenly target a pair of undercover police officer posing as a wealthy couple kitted with designer watches.

The police officers, who cannot be named, were wearing expensive garments and accessories as they played their part as bait for the shameless criminals on October 10, 2024.

One of the yobs, Yakob Harket, 21, was seen snatching a replica Patek Philippe Rose Gold watch from the female officer’s wrist in Berkeley Square, Mayfair. 

An officer wearing a suit slips over as he attempts to arrest Harket, but the criminal quickly races away as two of his accomplices were caught by police.

However he was swiftly brought to justice, and was arrested by police shortly afterwards.

Harket later confessed to robbery at Southwark Crown Court, with his accomplice Mohammed Naas, 34, was convicted of robbery by a jury after a three day trial.

Yanis Amri, 37, and Adel Mohamdi, 31, were convicted in their absence after they absconded.

Another two ‘Rolex rippers’, who carried out a series of savage attacks in London’s West End, were also sentenced to 19 years behind bars after targeting a victim outside a Rolls Royce showroom.

Tedros Haile, 35, and Mahad Jammeh, 24, attacked Michail Rivas outside the car showroom in Stratton Street, Mayfair, on 25 June last year.

Haile, Jammeh and a third man jumped out of a white BMW wearing face coverings and surrounded Mr Rivas, grabbing his Mido Baroncelli Moonphase Chronograph worth £1,000 before quickly making off in the getaway car.

Later that night they targeted Mark Jackson and Oliver Wragg in Brewer Street, as both victims were wearing short sleeved tops and expensive looking watches after a night out watching football.

Mr Jackson felt a hard object hit him behind his head before being hit by multiple full force fist punches, as he heard one of the thugs say ‘get his watch’ and one say ‘stab him in the face’.

One of the robbers put Mr Wragg in a chokehold from behind and he gave up his £600 Audemars Piguet replica watch, before they made a getaway in the BMW they had used for both robberies.

Jammeh has eleven previous convictions for robbery dating back to when he was 15.

Haile was in breach of a suspended sentence order for a burglary where he and another man broke into a flat where a woman was present.

Jailing Haile for 11 years and Jammeh for eight years with Judge Christopher Hehir saying the violence had been ‘gratuitous’.

It comes as damning figures showed Leicester Square, Covent Garden and the surrounding tourist areas are a hotspot for violent and sex crime. 

A tiny area straddling Oxford Street and parts of Soho was revealed to be the top the table for thefts in 2024, following a analysis of crime in Greater London by MailOnline. 

Almost 6,150 thefts were recorded last year in that small area, making it a hotbed of scooter-riding phone snatchers, with 8,450 thefts per 100 acres.

Commander Owain Richards said: ‘We understand the impact that mobile phone theft and robbery can have. It is an invasive and sometimes violent crime.

‘We are committed to protecting Londoners and target our resources to hotspot areas, such as Westminster and Lambeth.

‘By increasing patrols and plain clothes officers, we aim to deter opportunistic criminals and target repeat offenders.

‘We would encourage people to report an incident as soon as they can. By marking or registering their item, we are better able to track it down. ‘