Victim of vicious robbery in Sheffield calls for more CCTV

Alan Matthews, aged 33, thought he was going to die when he was mugged by two men on the bridge above Park Square roundabout earlier this year.

He is now calling for more CCTV in the city centre over claims the incident was not caught on camera.

Alan said he was withdrawing money from an ATM on Pond Street around 1.30am one night in June when he spotted two suspicious hooded men.

He walked towards his home on Park Hill and, to his relief, noticed the two men had gone.

But at the point where the bridges join, he spotted them again.

Alan said: "They must have gone at some speed to get in front of me. I picked up my pace, but realised they were jogging towards me."

At this point Alan started to run too, but the men caught him and demanded he hand over the money.

He said: "One of them strangled me from behind and told the other to go through my pockets.

"I couldn't breathe, speak or think - it was terrifying. I was punched and kicked in the face repeatedly.

"The strangler kneed me in the ribs, breaking three. I was losing vision and thought I was going to die. I've never been so frightened in my life."

Alan, who works as a hairdresser, said he blacked-out during the attack and came around on tram tracks sometime later - in severe pain and struggling to breathe.

He called an ambulance and was taken to hospital for treatment. The muggers escaped with his new iphone and wallet.

Alan said he decided to speak about the ordeal to highlight the lack of CCTV in the area.

He said: "Many people walk that route safe in the belief they are covered by CCTV. But the only footage police could get was a few seconds of me at the ATM.

"Quite frankly, I think that's disgusting. Maybe 'big brother' isn't watching as much as we think."

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said they are looking for two men 'in their 30s' in relation to the attack.

Anyone with information is asked to call police 101 quoting incident number 74 of June 24.