Sheffield man fearful of going out at night after terrifying knife-point mugging near city primary school

Joe Marshall was making his way home, on a route he has taken countless times near his home in Pitsmoor. When he reached the entrance to an alleyway on Orphanage Road, Pitsmoor, which is located next to Abbeyfield Primary Academy, he noticed a male standing in a ‘darkened space,’ but assumed he was waiting for a friend.

At the time of the incident between 6.15pm and 6.45pm on Tuesday, November 22, it was pitch black; and as Joe avoided the alleyway and continued to make his way down the road he says the male came up behind him and said: ‘Give me your money’.

Joe added: “I said: ‘Why are you doing this’ and he said: ‘Give me your money or I’ll stab you’ and he showed me a knife’.” Joe claims the knife was over 30 centimetres in length; and says the sight of it, knowing the damage it could cause, left him feeling terrified.

Joe, aged 42, says he handed over the £100 in cash he was carrying at the time, which was comprised of £40 his blind friend, Mark Holden, had given him to do his grocery shopping, and £60 he was given for Christmas.

"I gave him the money because I didn’t want to get stabbed. He told me to walk away, so I did,” said Joe, adding that when he got half way up the street he turned around to see whether the mugger was still there, but he had disappeared.

Joe says he was not able to see the mugger’s face because it was dark and he had his hood up, but says his assailant spoke with an accent which suggests he ‘must be from somewhere near here,’ and was wearing a white coat ‘that looked a bit dirty,’ along with black tracksuit bottoms and black trainers.

"I got home and collapsed in shock,” Joe said. He says he has chosen to speak out about the distressing ordeal because he ‘wouldn’t want it to happen to anyone else’; and has also highlighted the fact that the incident took place just yards away from Abbeyfield Primary Academy.

He reported the incident to police immediately, and says he is keen for them to check the school’s CCTV because he believes cameras may have captured the reported mugging.

Detective Inspector Iain Martin said: “We understand incidents like this are really concerning for those involved, causing physical and emotional harm to victims, and often also causing concern and fear in the wider community.

“I'm sorry that this has happened to this victim while they were simply going about their everyday life, and we apologise that it’s taken some time for us to visit the victim. We visited him yesterday afternoon and our enquiries to locate the person responsible are well underway.

“We are also reminding those who would carry out an incident like this that they will not be tolerated and we will carry out enforcement where we need to in order to those people involved.”

In the days since the mugging happened, Joe says he has been forced to resign from his job at Poundland in Sheffield city centre and feels unable to be out at dark. “I don’t want to go outside, but I have to. I’m wary now, always thinking about what I’m doing, and looking behind me,” Joe said.

Joe says he has sought help from his GP and has also been in contact with Victim Support.

No arrests have yet been made but enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact South Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 779 of 22 November. Information can also be reported via our online portal, or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The police portal can be accessed here: www.southyorks.police.uk/contact-us/report-something