GREATER Manchester Police have issued a statement to Salford University warning them of the rise in phone thefts in the area.
People on push bikes and mopeds have been snatching peoples phones from their hands as they cycle past.
The area to be cautious of is the A6 corridor where the University is located and where many student accommodations are including Tramways, IQ Student Quarter, Peel Park Quarter and Bramall Court.
Following the statement, head of Security for the University, Trevor Jones, has advised students to be “extra vigilant” and to protect their belongings when walking through the area concerned.
Gerta Kotsi, a 20-year-old student at the University of Salford, had her phone stolen from her outside her accommodation; “I was on my way back from work to Bramall Court – where I live – and as I was on the phone to my parents someone on a bike grabbed my phone from my hands.
“There was around four or five of them all riding bicycles and once they grabbed my phone they all cycled off together – this was only at 6pm.”
Tara Weaver, a 21-year-old student also at Salford University, had her phone stolen as well whilst on Seaford Road. She said: “I was walking from Spar to Tramways accommodation when two guys on a bike took my phone from my hands and cycled off into the park.
“Not only did they have my mobile phone but they managed to get access to all my Apple Pay details which they tried to pay a £100 bill with; I had to cancel all my cards.”
Due to the fact the perpetrators had their faces covered and there was no CCTV footage of the incident happening, Police have not been able to look any further into this and have closed Tara’s case following her report.
In September 2017 in Broughton there were 9 reported cases of ‘theft from a person’ compared to none in April 2017.
Nigel James, assistant accommodation manager at Tramways, said: “We always advise students not to walk through the park at night and keep to the main footpaths.
“We have CCTV around the perimeter of the building so we can see if anything happens and we have 24 hour security on site to make our residents feel safer.”
Typically crimes like these take place at night, but the Police have had reports of them happening during the daytime as well so are advising people to say vigilant at all times.
University security have asked for any suspicious activity to be reported to them on 54773.
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