This happened yesterday and is one of those stories I really wish I didn’t have to share, but hope it may somehow help raise awareness of this particular route between Euston and St Pancras.
For context: I’ve just started picking up some photography gigs on a freelance basis at the weekends as a bit of a side hustle on top of my pretty terribly paid dead end office job.
I’ll be honest, this particular “side hustle” is just another way of saying a “second job so I can afford Christmas this year” – nevertheless it had been going well, photography has always been a hobby and I had some half decent equipment so why not try and make a few quid out of it.
This particular gig on Sunday was an early corporate Christmas event type thing. Snap a few photos of people being given awards, employee of the year. All that stuff. Pretty straightforward and all finished by 9pm, hopefully home in time for MOTD2.
So with a backpack full of camera gear I was heading home. Walking from Euston to St. Pancras I turned down Phoenix Road and passed The Cock Tavern. This is the signposted “Wellbeing Walk” between the two stations as there is 50% less pollution than the much busier (and safer) Euston Road.
It was dark, late and nobody was around. I’ve done this walk before a couple of times but always on a weeknight when there’s been commuters around. The name of the route is about to become pretty ironic.
Before I had chance to notice there’s three men in puffer jackets walking straight towards me and then they’re right in my face and I’m getting pushed about. I’ve honestly never felt more afraid or vulnerable, I know my body should have gone “fight or flight” but I just turned into a trembling bag of nerves.
They took my wallet with £20 in and then they took my camera bag with about £1.5k worth of photo gear in. That’s a Nikon D800, a 24-70mm f2.8 lens, a speed light flash, a half decent tripod and an SD card full of photos from the gig. For good measure they also threw my phone across the street smashing the screen. Looking back at it now I’m ashamed I didn’t put up any kind of resistance, but I honestly just didn’t know what to do. I have no doubt they’d have kicked the shit out of me, or worse.
I got home and wept like a child. There’s no way they could have known what was in my backpack. It was just a basic unbranded bag, but it was a bag that not only held the means to my side hustle, but also the means to my only real hobby. I emailed the client this morning to explain what had happened, they’re yet to reply.
I’ve never been mugged before and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I’m really not sure how to process it all. It’s hard enough to keep your head above water in this city and sometimes the world just seems to be pitted against you.
Tldr: tried to turn my hobby into a side hustle, got mugged, at wits’ end with London life.
**UPDATE: Thank you to everyone for the kind words, it genuinely has cheered me up.**
**I think it’ll still take a few days to fully process everything. A couple of you have suggested setting up a gofundme to help replace the camera equipment. I’m reluctant as there’s people out there more deserving of help. That being said, if you fancy chipping in please know it would be massively appreciated: https://www.gofundme.com/f/amateur-photographer-mugged-in-london**
**Thank you Reddit. Merry Christmas.**
by HELL0-0PERATOR
30 comments
Sorry that happened to you mate. Not putting up a fight was the smart thing to do! Don’t beat yourself up about that! These assholes always carry around a knife, no camera is worth getting stabbed over. Have you contacted the police?
Sorry to hear what happened. I’ve been there and their really isn’t much you can do. It happens fast and your brain doesn’t have time to really process what is going on. You’ll get through it though. Do report to the police and get a crime number though, as it may become useful.
Horrible story. I hope they catch him but seems unlikely with the state of the Police these days
Oh that’s so shite. Really sorry that happened to you.
If you have contents insurance does it offer cover away from home? You normally have to tell the insurer about items valued over a certain amount but if the camera body, lens, strap etc were all separate items you could argue that the individual items didn’t have to be named on the policy
I’m so sorry this happened, I hope you’re taking good care of yourself. I use that route often, so I’m grateful for the heads up x
I used to walk along there in the dark, all the time, but doing the London “don’t mess with me, I’m local and people know me round here” walk. Wearing a backpack containing my work laptop. I never got hassled but the risk was always there.
That pub you mentioned is a well known place where thieves hang out and try to sell you stuff that “fell off the back of a lorry”. The only time I ever went in there for a drink, some guy came over and tried to sell me cheese. Yes – CHEESE. I assumed he had stolen it.
All you can do is write a letter to the Camden New Journal, the local paper that definitely finds its way into that pub. The CNJ has a policy of publishing ALL letters. You never know, if you prick someone’s conscience, you might get someone’s help. Or at least you’ll be helping other people by warning them.
The guys who stole your stuff were probably able to sell it really quickly, in the pub. It’s possible they had seen you earlier and had followed you because they knew what was in your backpack. It’s too much of a coincidence that they just happened to be there – 3 of them.
[https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/](https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/)
Sorry to hear you had to deal with that, unfortunately the back streets of Euston/St Pancras have always been a bit dodgy due to the high concentration of council estates there.
I know you may not have been able to at the time due to your phone being smashed but the best advice I could give to anyone who finds themself in this situation in London is try and call the police, or ask someone else nearby, as soon as possible after the robbery has happened. Believe it or not but the police in London take robbery very seriously and will usually flood the area if one has just taken place to search for the suspects, as that’s their best chance of catching them.
You did the right thing by handing over your possessions without issue, items can usually be replaced, and your physical well-being is always more important.
You can’t blame yourself mate, just wrong place at wrong time
Fighting back would’ve ended up only with more injuries and possibly a stabbing and you’d still lose, if there’s any consolation you’re at least in one piece, this could’ve ended far worse
Mate, I am so sorry this has happened to you, but in a situation where it’s you vs 3 other guys, putting up no resistance is absolutely the right thing to do!
File a police report then claim on your insurance. That is about all you can do I’m afraid.
You could also register the serial number with lenstag.com.
I got a good few years of boxing and mma under my belt, If I was confronted by 3 grown men on a dark street I would have just handed over all my stuff tbh don’t feel shit about it, take the lesson and move on
I’m so sorry. I’ve never been mugged – touch wood – but I know I would absolutely crap myself. You had a normal human reaction and did the right thing by not putting up a fight. 3 against 1 is rarely going to end well.
Everyone’s giving up their stuff in that situation, it’s easy to think you’d fight when you’re typing in Reddit from the comfort of your home. It could have been a lot worse
this is horrible. i’m so sorry. I hope you’re alright.
From someone who lived in a shit area of London and has experienced his fair share of muggings. I am sorry this happened to you and sympathise wholeheartedly.
This sort of crime doesn’t get taken seriously enough by the police but don’t give up hope and try and remember those people who robbed you are in a worse place than you will ever be and probably will end up in prison or dead within a few years.
Might be worth checking gumtree / marketplace or cash converters in the area for your camera as I doubt they would have formatted your card.
Stay strong friend.
I am sorry, it must have been (and still is) awful. However it is quite ironic that all this happened on a wellbeing walk.
It’s horrible being mugged. It is in no way your fault. And you did the right thing by not putting up a fight.
The police should have shared the details for victim support. I regret not speaking to them after I was mugged. I ended up moving because of my incident and I think if I could have talked through it I would have been a lot happier.
Sorry to hear this.
You could look into using http://www.stolencamerafinder.com at a later date.
You upload a photo that has your camera serial number etc, and it scours the internet for any photos uploaded with the same data. It could help you locate your stolen camera later on.
I’m really sorry to hear what happened to you. It’s easy to relive it and think, “Why did I do that? Why didn’t I do that?”, but there’s no point. You were in a dangerous situation and you could have easily been harmed. They could have been carrying knives. Take it easy, don’t beat yourself up. All material things can eventually be replaced; you cannot. Contact your GP to find out about some short term counselling. Sending hugs.
You did the right thing. You’re not walking away unharmed if you tried to fight three guys. Many experienced fighters wouldn’t fancy those odds.
I went through something similar so can relate. I ended up fighting back but it was two guys opposed to three. Long story short, police arrived, the cunts got arrested and I kept my belongings but then it resulted in police statements and eventually court. It was a horrible period waiting for that court date to the point where I almost wished I had given the stuff over and it would have all been over there and then.
It gets better bud, I know what you’re feeling right now.
Three on one: it would not have ended well if you put up a fight. At best you get a beating. At worst, you’re stabbed.
Unfortunately an all too common event in London.
Not worth putting up a fight mate, your life isn’t worth your bag.
Those people don’t have very good lives remember if you feel like they got one over on you.
My advice is always just to run if you are fit enough. Like if they catch you, just give your shit up, but at least see if the theiving basterds have it in them to chase you down
Two guys in balaclavas tried to mug me in shepherds bush. They were hiding behind a car and one guy just popped up in front of me and said ” you got the time?” And I just said nope. And was walking very fast. The guy behind him said ” not him”. They could tell I would’ve bolted like a flash of lightening.
This was a while ago when I was incredibly fit and fast though. They basically wouldve had no chance of catching me
I’m so so sorry this happened to you. Please don’t let it put you off for good! Sending you good vibes.
shit, I do the walk between St Pancras and Euston along Phoenix road fairly often. I guess I am going to stick to the Euston road going forward
To be honest, fight or flight aren’t the only options: When the body gets an adrenaline dump people can ‘flop’ (keel over or play dead); ‘freeze’ (like the proverbial rabbit in the headlights); or ‘friend’ (try snd change the situation by talking or persuading their foe).
Sounds like you froze. They’re all natural reactions and none of them are the right way or the wrong way. No one really knows what they’ll do in a similar instance.
I grew up in a house just round the corner from where this happened, there will be lots of cameras in the area, there should be footage of it happening. I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m the end all these things can be replaced at least you weren’t physically harmed
So sorry to read this. That must have been truly petrifying! Absolutely no way anyone would be composed and able to put up a fight, especially against three and after such a shocking encounter.
About 3 weeks ago I was outside King’s Cross station entrance an a woman was assaulted in front of me in a completely unprovoked attack. It’ was 9.45pm and there were loads of people around. Very hard to know what you can do when a stranger does that. She reported it to the police and they did amazingly find the perpetrator and charge them.
I hope you get your things back and never have a situation like this again. It could happen to anyone and must have been awful.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. Whether the police would actually follow up on it is another question, but when you’re able to replace your gear it might be worth burying an AirTag somewhere in your camera bag since they tend to have lots of little pockets.
Yeah that area has bad vibes. Walked that way by accident one night after I diverted to buy some beer on way to St P. Ended up walking pretty quickly when I saw how many yoots were about, and nobody else. Nothing happened but I regretted going that way.