Thugs choke man in £15k Rolex robbery
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 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 flings him across the floor, before the pair flee in a black Peugeot 206 containing another man and a woman.
Later images showed Mr James coming around round and gingerly standing up. His hands appear to be shaking – an apparent anxiety attack brought on by the combination of his ordeal and his Parkinson’s disease.
The 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. I just didn’t know what to do – he was choking the life out of me.
‘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.’
Police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.