Thugs almost choke man to death for £15,000 Rolex
But brazen pair forget to wear masks as attack is caught on CCTV
A ROBBER throttled a man until he was unconscious as his accomplice stole a £ 15,000 Rolex watch from his wrist.
CCTV footage shows the pair casually walking up to a van and car rental business on a suburban street.
Incredibly, neither are wearing masks – and one of the thugs even appears to stare directly at the camera, giving a strikingly clear view of his face. He is wearing a woolly hat, while his accomplice wears a hooded anorak.
The pair then walk into the office as Roy James, 46, sits at his desk.
Footage shows the first robber suddenly grabbing the father of seven, who has Parkinson’s disease, around the neck from behind and putting him into a headlock.
His accomplice then points to Mr James’s gold Rolex Yacht Master watch and demands that he hand it over. Despite being in a headlock, Mr James fights back – using his hands and feet to lash out.
Moments later he falls to the floor with a robber on top of him and begins to lose consciousness.
The accomplice then takes the Rolex off his wrist and the other robber then flings him across the floor before the pair flee in a black Peugeot 206 containing another man and a woman.
Mr James then comes round and gingerly stands up. His hands appear to be shaking – an apparent anxiety attack brought on by the combination of his ordeal and his Parkinson’s disease.
He then sits down and puts his head into his hands as he shakes violently. Two young women who work nearby come to his aid and splash water over his face to help him recover.
Two attack took place in the offices of AVA Car Hire in Eltham, South-East London, on Wednesday February 10 at 1.30pm. Mr James said: ‘When they came in and grabbed me, I didn’t know where I was, I thought I was a goner.
‘When one of them was choking me I just didn’t know what to do – he was choking the life out of me.
‘I got thrown back on to the bannister [of the stairs leading to his office]. If the bannister wasn’t there, I would have gone down the stairs and been really injured. I was just in a daze when I was on the floor trying to work out what had happened. They tried to take my ring too but they couldn’t get it off my finger
‘One of my kids was in the shop with me just before it happened, I’m just glad they weren’t hurt.
‘I was scared, very scared, but I don’t know who would do this to me. I’ve been doing this for 20 years and you get all sorts of people who come in and out. It could have been anyone. Everyone knows me in the community and they are all disgusted.’
Mr James said 20 vans were stolen from him four months ago and two years ago robbers also tried to take vans, but he fought them off.
Detectives are appealing for anyone with information about the robbers to come forward. The first suspect is white, aged between 25 and 30, of medium build with a goatee.
The second is also white, aged between 38 and 40, of medium build with a scarred complexion.
Detective Constable Andrew Payne said: ‘We have taken the decision to release the footage to show the level of violence used, and ask the public for help in apprehending the persons responsible. We believe the victim was targeted by the suspects to steal his watch.’
‘I thought I was a goner’