The terrifying moment hammer-wielding bike-jackers attack cyclist and steal his £4,200 bike in London's lawless park as clubs beg police to ramp up dawn patrols
- Have you fallen victim to a bike-jacker? Contact rory.tingle@mailonline.co.uk
This is the terrifying moment a Regent's Park cyclist had his £4,200 road bike robbed by hammer-wielding thugs during a morning ride.
Cycle club members who gather in the famous north-west London park each day before it opens to cars have suffered a series of violent robberies by armed 'bike-jackers'.
Patrick Conneely, who lives in from Leyton, east London, was doing a lap around the Outer Circle road when was passed by two men riding a moped, who inspected his bike before turning around and pursuing him.
Exclusive video obtained by MailOnline shows the shocking encounter that followed, with one of the men leaping off the moped and shouting at Mr Conneely to, as he recalled, 'Give me the f*****g bike'.
After the 33-year-old bravely refused, the thug took a hammer from the top box and waved it at him while continuing to shout violent threats. He then grabbed the bike and jumped on the moped carrying it above his head.
At this point Mr Conneely surged forward and tried to push the moped over before the men rode away at speed.
The data analyst believes that the way the pair inspected the brand of his Trek Domane bike before deciding to target him showed they 'knew what they were doing'.
Fearful cyclists have called on the Metropolitan Police to increase pre-dawn patrols of the park to deter the robbers. In response, the force insists it is treating the issue as a 'serious concern' and has introduced 'additional plain clothes and uniform patrols' before the park officially opens.
While cycle club members typically gather in Regent's Park between 5.45am and 7am before cars are allowed to enter, Patrick Conneely was riding just before 8am on Saturday, January 18 when the robbers struck.
He had been doing a lap by himself after arriving early to meet two friends when he noticed the moped pass him on the opposite side of the road.
'They pulled up next to me and looked at the bike,' he told MailOnline. 'I knew straight away what was happening and felt very vulnerable so went to turn around, but they then went into a side road and turned around too.
'The one thing I really didn't want to happen was to get smashed off the bike because you can really hurt yourself. So I wanted to be off it and be standing up when they came.
'When that video starts you can see me jump off the bike. They then pulled up next to me and one of the men was telling me to give me the f*****g bike.
'He then reached for his waist before returning to the moped and taking a hammer out of the box, which he raised above his head to swing at me.'
After the robber grabbed the bike off Mr Conneely, he went over to an onlooker who had already called 999.
Despite previously cycling in Regent's Park several times a week, he has not returned there since the horrific incident.
'I'm reticent about going back,' he said. 'This is a place we go to exercise and it's right in the centre of London - we should be able to enjoy it safely.
The 33-year-old previously rode in Regent's Park several times a week but has not been back since the terrifying incident on January 18.
'A lot of people I know are now meeting outside the park to group up before heading in.
'To me it seems like it can't be that many people doing it - pulling out a hammer to rob a bike is not opportunistic, it's people who know what they are looking for.
'A sting by the police - like the one they did on watch robbers in the West End - would be the obvious next step.'
MailOnline visited Regent's Park early yesterday morning to speak to cycle club members about the spate of robberies.
By 5.20am, several individual cyclists began passing along the Outer Circle before - just before dawn - a large group from Islington Cycling Club gathered for a one-hour ride before work.
Phil, a 52-year-old management consultant, described a fearful atmosphere among riders.
'People are nervous, especially at this time of the morning, about coming into the park on their own,' he said.
'There are people in the club who have had bikes taken or experienced near misses.
'I think there are a number of people who are thinking twice about whether it's worth the risk for them to come in, which is horrible.
'According to the Strava data, the number of people using the park are lower than normal - so it seems that these people are scaring people off.
'It's a real shame. Riding around the park in the morning when there are no cars is a lovely way to get exercise and harms no one.'
Harry Robertson, 30, a doctor from Holloway, has changed his behaviour to try and stay safe.
'There was a spate four weeks ago where people were being attacked with hammers and things like that - it was very unpleasant,' he said.
'I love coming around here in the mornings but since hearing all that I've been scared to come by myself so have been meeting people outside and arriving in a group. A police presence when people come out around 6am would help.'
The Met insists bike theft is a 'significant concern' and said officers were working with cycling groups and using intelligence to deploy to 'hotspot locations'.
Chief Inspector John Hine, from the Royal Parks unit, said: 'We have been working hard to curb bike thefts in and around Regent's Park including patrolling hotspot locations.
'In particular since January, we have stood up additional plain clothes and uniform officers, especially at night and before the park officially opens in the early hours of the morning.
'This is a key priority for the team, and given the violence used in these attacks, we will continue to ensure that we do all we can to put a stop to these crimes.'
Regent's Park Cyclists, founded around a decade ago, recently penned an open letter to Sir Mark Rowley, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, warning him of the 'chilling' effect of the 'weekly' attacks on cyclists across London.
In his letter, Mr Epstein quoted figures from a Freedom of Information response from the force, which reported that in the year up to December 2023, 768 crimes of a pedal cycle being stolen using violence or the threat of violence were reported - equivalent to '15 violent attacks each week, every week of the year'.
He added that a poll of members also found that out of 1,400 respondents, 91 per cent felt less safe due to a recent surge in violent robberies, with 59 per cent admitting they'd reduced their cycling as a consequence.
Sean Epstein, chairman of Regent's Park Cyclists, said some cyclists had been knocked off their bikes.
'Mopeds just stand and wait - two people on a moped or motorbike - plates removed, with masks or balaclavas,' he said.
'Most robbers kick riders off their bikes while they're riding and wrestle their bikes off them.
'Last winter the robberies kept increasing. Our clubs were getting hit on a weekly basis.
'It's always the same method and the same response from the police: treating it like stolen property, shrugging and saying, 'Sorry, we've got no leads.. You should get insurance'.
'It has led to a general fear and inability for people to feel safe.'
A Met spokesperson added that cyclists had the option of registering their bikes with the force so they could get a free tracker.
'Making it harder to sell on stolen bikes through the second-hand market is also crucial, and we would encourage riders to register their bike with us for free so we can track them if they are stolen,' they said.
Police are set to receive new powers to enter properties without a warrant if tracking apps such as ‘Find My Phone’ show stolen gadgets are inside.
