A teenage girl Woodford Green has spoken of the shocking mugging which took place just moments from her own home
11:09am Tuesday 2nd February 2010 in News By James Ranger
Julie McGrath, who was violently mugged on Woodford Green High Roa just moment from her own home
THE VICTIM of a violent mugging just metres from her own home has spoken of how the attack has left her frightened to leave the house after dark.
Julie McGrath, 17, of Friars Gate Close in Woodford Green was punched, kicked and robbed of her bag by two teenage girls on Woodford Green High Road, in one of the quieter parts of the borough.
The attack, which took place on January 21 at around 11:30pm, left her with badly bruised ribs and a black eye, and the bag which was taken contained her purse, mobile phone and a memory stick containing months' worth of college work.
Miss McGrath, who is studying for a BTEC in business at Epping Forest College, said: “I was walking home from my boyfriends house in Snakes Lane West and I had my iPod on. They came towards me from behind and tapped me on the shoulder.
“I took my earphones out and one of them said 'Are you deaf?'. I said 'what?' and then they said 'Do you want to get shanked?'
“I said 'Show me your knife then,' which sounds strange but someone tried to rob me before and I stood up to them then.
“But that was when one of the punched me in the face. Then they both pushed me to the floor and then they kept kicking me in the ribs.”
The girls then grabbed Ms McGrath's bag and made off into Firs Close. Shortly afterwards someone driving past saw her lying on the ground, pulled off and offered to call her parents.
Ms McGrath was able to get up and ran home, as she said she wanted to get her mother to drive around to look for the two robbers, but mum Carolyn, told her she needed to stay where she was.
“My boyfriend gets worried when I walk home alone at night, but I like waking home. But he gets nervous if he doesn't hear from me, so we drove around to his in the early hours, as I was more worried about him than I was about myself,” Miss McGrath said.
The girls are described as around 5' 10” tall and around 15 or 16 years old. One girl is described as being mixed race, with a lip piercing and a nose piercing, both on the the left hand side, with dark brown hair slicked back in a pony tail. She was wearing pyjama bottoms and a dark or black jacket.
The other girl was white, with frizzy brown hair, heavily-built, and was also wearing a dark or black jacket.
The attack occurred only two days before a 15-year-old boy was brutally kicked and beaten by a gang of 15-20 youths in Snakes Lane West, only a short distance away, on January 23 – prompting fears over the rising crime levels in Woodford Green, which has been thought as one of the safest parts of the borough.
Miss McGrath said that, nearly two weeks after the attack, she was still frightened of being out on her own after dark.
She said: “Put it this way, I make sure I'm home before 9pm now, and I only feel ok if I'm with my boyfriend as well, because I know he can protect me.”
