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Reikiranf

Warning to London public transport users

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If any of you travel in London please keep your bags and possessions close to you, my YD got a new leather cross body handbag for work and noticed that is has been slashed across the top, possibly with a stanley knife, thankfully it didn't go right through the leather but it doesn't look nice and she'd only had the bag for a week :(

 

She then did a bit of research online and found that bag slashing is on the increase along with cutting the straps on bags to steal them, yesterday I had an email from my local police saying that theft is increasing on all public transport & not just in London. So if using public transport please keep your wits about you, I suppose we should think ourselves lucky that only YD's bag got slashed :shock:

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If you are using public transport, you should keep your bags close to you anyway, especially in London, where there are a lot of people and leaving your bags unattended may spark a security alert.

I heard about this 'slash and grab' happening in other countries (esp Spain) but never in London, until now...

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Not a nice thing to happen but thank goodness your YD was physically fine. Must have been a bit of a shock though for her. When I lived in London many years ago we used to always try to wear our handbags under our jackets or coats so that the straps or the bags couldn't be cut. Sadly, I don't think things like this are only on the increase in London. Even in smaller places one has to be on one's guard especially at this time of year.

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She's always worked in London when in the UK and has just returned from a second year of travelling, so she is pretty street smart, she wears her bag in front of her and usually has her hand over it, but she thinks it happened whilst she was fiddling with her mp3 player.

 

I know it's a common thing abroad but a male friend of mine had it happen to him in London, they slashed the bottom of his bag and got everything except for his wallet, which being a shrewd Yorkshire man he'd attached to the inside of his bag with string :lol:

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This always worries me. Partly due to bags being nicked and partly due to sharp knives being thrust about around unsuspecting people.

 

I used to work in an internet cafe in Northern Spain which was frequented by many backpackers and I always warned people about things like this. It was especially prevalent in Barcelona.

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Both my daughter and I carry phones and wallets in pockets when we're on the tube. I revert to my trusty canvas rucksack and she has a variety of tote bags for things that don't matter if they get stolen.

I'm glad your daughter is ok but it's very dangerous. I loathe these robbers and would like them to spend an amount of time in the stocks. A bit of public humiliation would be good. The new commissioner talks a lot about zero tolerance, I hope he is allowed to pursue it for the sake of people like your daughter.

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I've lived and worked in London for nearly twenty years, and this sort of theft is very rare. I don't think visitors to London are any more at risk than in any large city- it's common sense to keep your bag zipped up and your arm across it in any crowded place.

 

The Tube is very crowded and so offers an opportunity to pickpockets and other thieves, it's true, but I also witness acts of kindness and generosity every day. There are good people and bad people and that's true the world over, not just in London.

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Sorry to hear that Reiki, I'm glad they didn't get the bag or that your YD didn't get injured. There are some horrible people about. I'd be really annoyed about my handbag being ruined too.

 

Talking about London transport, whilst on the tube yesterday, there was a family with a pushchair and the lady was very obviously pregnant. They had got off of the tube as they'd seen some spaces further down the carriage(which had lots of people standing) but by the time they got to our bit the seats had been taken. "Ooops, word censored!"ody got up to give the lady a seat, what has happened to being sensitive to other peoples needs? We couldn't believe it. Its every man for himself it seems. :notalk:

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