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Security guard’s shock after ‘vicious’ moped attack in Cricklewood
Two men on a moped threw a brick at the windscreen of a security guard's van after he found them acting suspiciously in a Cricklewood estate. - Credit: Archant
A security guard has described his shock after two thugs on a moped smashed his windscreen with a brick.
The pair sped towards the guard with their headlights on full beam before the passenger threw the brick. - Credit: Archant
Abi, who asked not to be named in full, first spotted the pair acting suspiciously outside houses at the end of Hocroft Road in Cricklewood last Wednesday at 1am.
When he challenged the two men – thought to be in their late teens – they started shouting and swearing at Abi, who is responsible for patrolling seven streets on the Hocroft estate, before disappearing down an alleyway.
But while Abi was parked up in Farm Avenue the pair – one wearing a mask and the other in a balaclava – returned speeding towards him with their lights on full beam.
Moments later the moped rider’s passenger lobbed a brick at the van shattering the windscreen and showering Abi in shards of glass.
“They came so fast. It was a shock. I had a second to duck,” Abi said.
“We see a lot of moped riders, but haven’t experienced violent crime here,” he added.
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A guard for eight years after concerned residents hired private contractors to patrol the area overnight, Abi was cut in the attack with his doctor later removing 10 pieces of glass from his neck and forehead.
“It was really painful. But I was upset at the fact that a human being could do that to somebody else. Nothing like that has happened to me before,” he said.
Commenting on the moped riders who Abi expects will return, he said: “They are vicious. You don’t know if they have knives. I have nothing to protect myself.
“I’m sure they will come back. The best thing I can do is take their pictures and call the police,” he added.
Since the attack Abi has ordered a stab-proof vest as well as being inundated with messages of support from well-wishers from the estate wishing him a quick recovery.
But not to be defeated, Abi returned to work the next day.
“I didn’t want [the attackers] to think they had won,” he said.
Police attended the scene, but have made yet to make any arrests. Enquiries are continuing.
