Deaf man robbed in Southend street

THIEVES punched a deaf man in the stomach before grabbing his mobile phone from his pocket.

The 37 year-old victim had gone for a walk alone when he was approached by two men at the junction of Hamstel Road and Philpott Avenue, Southend.

One of the thieves stood in front of him whilst the other grabbed him from behind.

They punched the deaf man in the stomach before one of them took a Blackberry phone from his pocket.

He relied heavily on the phone to write text messaged in order to communicate with friends and family members.

Dc Paul Gutteridge, investigating officer, said: "This was an appalling attack on a man who is profoundly deaf and cannot speak. He was unable to call for help even though there were people and cars passing at the time.

"We want to hear from any witnesses or anyone who was passing the area at the time of the robbery. We also want to hear from anyone who recognise the men from the descriptions we have been given”.

The incident took place at around 11.50pm on Friday, February 1.

The thieves are both described as white and between 5ft 5in and 5ft 6in tall.

One of the men, believed to be aged around 35, was of broad build, had short blond hair and was wearing jeans and a navy blue jacket.

The second man, believed to be aged around 25, was of slim build, had short dark hair and was wearing jeans and a red or dark-coloured hooded top.

Anyone with information is urged to contact DC Gutteridge at Southend CID on 101.

Comments(15)

onorris24 says...
4:51pm Tue 12 Feb 13

why was he out at 11:50pm? unless the echo meant 11:50 am....

Druggie Scumbag says...
4:57pm Tue 12 Feb 13

onorris24 wrote:
why was he out at 11:50pm? unless the echo meant 11:50 am....
That is the most crass comment I have read on these pages in a long time and that is saying something.

Shoebury_Cyclist says...
4:58pm Tue 12 Feb 13

onorris24 wrote:
why was he out at 11:50pm? unless the echo meant 11:50 am....
Why shouldn't people go for a walk late at night?

Sir Peter Pantsless the 3rd says...
4:59pm Tue 12 Feb 13

onorris24 wrote:
why was he out at 11:50pm? unless the echo meant 11:50 am....
What difference does it make what time of day (or night) it was?
.
Southend's streets are now dangerous 24hrs a day.
.
Over the past few weeks muggings, assaults, robberies, etc are escalating at a terrible rate in and arround the Southchurch area.
.
Southend is not a nice or safe place to be anymore.

onorris24 says...
5:03pm Tue 12 Feb 13

well excuse me, i've been approached and intimidated before and i feel southend is just horrible now, i wouldn't even think about going anywhere in southend

onorris24 says...
5:04pm Tue 12 Feb 13

late at night**

onorris24 says...
5:04pm Tue 12 Feb 13

late at night**

Nebs says...
5:27pm Tue 12 Feb 13

GPD SouthEnd 2k13!! wrote:
Before any haters pin this crime on us, it was not us. GPD mainly hang out, and dont rob innocent people, only peeps we hate. da media are given us a bad name. f5uck da police too!
Does this mean that the people you hate are not innocent? What crimes have they committed?

supermadmax says...
5:32pm Tue 12 Feb 13

onorris24 wrote:
why was he out at 11:50pm? unless the echo meant 11:50 am....
Fair point. Its not illegal but its also not normal to go for a stroll in that area at that time or night unless someone was buying something illegal for example .

Im quite surprised they robbed a "profoundly deaf and cannot speak" man .

Rich£Carol says...
6:20pm Tue 12 Feb 13

I just cant believe that this happened in Southend as I thought it was crime free there. Hope the chap is ok tho. skull and crossbones will replace the purple flag this year

Saxonpride says...
6:56pm Tue 12 Feb 13

I am really sick of people lambasting this great city because of a few muggings.
If it's so bad, where are the murders? Where are the gang wars? Where are all the things that usually point to a city being riddled with crime?

When the worst we have to deal with is a few instances of petty theft, I think the doom-mongers are being incredibly premature.

All I'm saying is that until we see a situation like that in London, wherein youth gangs launch daylight attacks on rivals with swords and cleavers and actually kill a great many people - then I don't think we should be whining about Southend going to the dogs just yet.

Seasider90 says...
7:14pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Er Saxonpride its been getting worse and worse and within a few years will be like London. Southend has become a cesspit. Still we've got a few thousand Bulgarians and Romanians coming - that will add some class to Southend and increase the house prices.

Saxonpride says...
8:16pm Tue 12 Feb 13

GPD SouthEnd 2k13!! wrote:
Nebs wrote:
GPD SouthEnd 2k13!! wrote:
Before any haters pin this crime on us, it was not us. GPD mainly hang out, and dont rob innocent people, only peeps we hate. da media are given us a bad name. f5uck da police too!
Does this mean that the people you hate are not innocent? What crimes have they committed?
Just trying to make us look mugs and everything. 1 crime someone commited was beating up sum girl we know. how is that good? it aint. cant fight like men so pick on our girls.
Erm...should you really be on the internet bragging about being part of a wanted criminal gang?
I mean, aren't the police currently watching you guys because of all the brutal mobile phone thefts you've been accused of?

mr_happy says...
8:34pm Tue 12 Feb 13

I have now moved to Wales, although I still keep a eye on things in Southend as my parents still live there. I can only say that moving was the best thing I have done. So many crimes in Essex: Muggings, beatings, robbery, rape and stabbings. There is so little crime here, you dont even see a ploice officer in the town. There are groups of youngsters hanging around in the evening, but they are polite and seem to get up to no wrong. I would never return to Southend, it has gone from bad to worse and I feel it will not get any better. I am sorry for you all..

pendulum says...
2:11am Wed 13 Feb 13

The culprits need the hangman's noose.

Or at least a bread and water spell in a metal box with no daylight, no luxuries, barely any heating...

There is little deterrent to crime in this country.

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