Five teenagers were arrested at Bishop’s Stortford railway station by police investigating “a series of attempted robberies” on a train from Liverpool Street late at night.
A woman whose sister was on the train told the Indie that it was believed a gang was robbing passengers at knifepoint.
At around 10.30pm last Tuesday (April 23), five teenagers boarded a northbound Greater Anglia train at Tottenham Hale and tried to rob two men, according to British Transport Police (BTP).
The train was held at Bishop’s Stortford, where officers arrested a boy aged 15, two 16-year-old boys, a boy aged 17 and an 18-year-old man on suspicion of attempted robbery.
The 15-year-old boy was also arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon. All five have been released under investigation.
A woman who was passing the station in Stortford at about 11.20pm told the Indie what she witnessed.
“Four boys [who] looked no older than 15 or 16, in balaclavas, were each placed on a separate bench. Each had two police officers and [were] handcuffed to the benches.
“My sister was on the train with them. It was a direct train from Tottenham Hale to Bishop’s Stortford, no stops in between.
“She was in the last carriage, so luckily they didn’t get to her. But rumour around the station was [that] boys were robbing passengers on the train at knifepoint.
“Once they arrived at Bishop’s Stortford, police officers were already waiting for the train’s arrival to make the arrests.”
BTP on Monday (April 29) issued an appeal for witnesses, information and phone footage. You can contact BTP by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 405040, quoting reference 755 of 23 April 2024. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
