‘Ninja’ robbers targeted me to snatch £8,500, says presenter
A SCOTTISH TV presenter who was beaten up and mugged by two men dressed as ‘Ninjas’ says she was the victim of a targeted attack.
Kate Copstick was forced to the ground and robbed of £8,500 in cash outside her home in September.
She had the money with her as she was travelling to Kenya the next day on behalf of a charity she runs.
Speaking for the first time since the attack, she said the police have interviewed several witnesses and gained footage from a doorbell camera to help identify her assailants.
Ms Copstick also praised the generosity of celebrity friends – including TV
‘Not a random mugging. They knew where I lived’
comedians Jason Manford and Michael McIntyre – who have helped her to replace, and even add to, the charity funds which were stolen.
The 66-year-old presenter, who found fame in children’s television shows such as Play School and Chuckle-Vision, said: ‘There’s no point in speculating but this was not a random mugging.
‘They knew where I lived, which is not nice.
‘It could have been worse, but I don’t want to look at everyone with suspicion.’
She added: ‘The robbery unit has got someone’s doorbell cam and footage of it, though they haven’t shown it to me. Apparently, it looks very dramatic.
‘A couple of other people said they’d seen the guys lurking across the road from my flat.’
Ms Copstick, who lives in Shepherd’s Bush, London, said the robbers did not seem to be just opportunistic thieves. She said: ‘I don’t mean to denigrate Shepherd’s Bush professional muggers but they are not exactly smart and debonair. They normally smell of alcohol, cigarettes and weed.
‘These people were dressed as Ninjas. These guys were very smart. There was not a single word, no huffing and puffing. They were covered from head to toe.
‘I’d say it was a very professional operation.’
Showbiz friends pitched in to a crowdfunder set up after the attack which raised £14,500 to replace the charity funds, more than the sum stolen. The money helped her make a trip to Nairobi on behalf of the Mama Biashara charity.
It helps young women who are victims of domestic violence and female genital mutilation and who are often sold into prostitution.
Ms Copstick said the horrifying experiences of the women in Kenya put her own problems into perspective.
She said: ‘The women who contact us are in danger because they could be killed. We are blindingly privileged over here.
‘People who say they have a terrible life don’t compare to these women over there.’