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Mr Watts at cashpoint |
Ex-Tube driver cashpoint victim
Man, 61, is mugged in £500 scam on way to party to celebrate saving library
CONMEN stole £500 from a retired Tube train driver on Monday morning in a cashpoint scam on busy Haverstock Hill.
Ron Watts, 61, the chairman of the Friends of Belsize Library group, was mugged as he went to use a HSBC dispenser in Haverstock Hill. He was taking money out to pay for food and wine for a party to celebrate the Friends’ 21st birthday and mark their campaign to keep the library in Antrim Grove open when three thieves in their early 20s struck.
Mr Watts, who worked on the Northern line as a for nearly 25 years and was the chairman of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), said: “I was taking the cash out, I could tell there was someone standing behind me.
“A man came up and said: ‘the cash machine must have just malfunctioned, I’ve just seen some money come out of the slot and go back in again’.”
Mr Watts, of Belsize Park, was persuaded that he should put his card back in and check his balance. And it was as he did this that friends of the bogus good samaritan struck.
“As I did this, another person pushed me to one side and started talking gibberish at me – I knew immediately that something was wrong, and that he was trying to distract me,” said Mr Watts. “I was worried he had a knife.”
The trio took Mr Watts’ bank card, having already noted the number, and ran off – withdrawing £500 moments later at a cashpoint further up the street. They went on to make seven other attempts to access his bank account in just half an hour, all in the Belsize Park and Hampstead area.
Mr Watts immediately reported the incident and his bank have agreed to refund him.
He added: “They must have watched me use my PIN number. I was thinking about organising the party and the things I had to do that day.”
Police say they have no CCTV footage and have not yet made any arrests. A spokeperson said: “You need to remember to be vigilant when using cash machines.” |
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