A teenager, who was 15 at the time, has been jailed for carrying out a series of violent bike robberies in Richmond.

He carried out “a number of terrifying offences with no regard for the safety of the victims or the injuries he could cause by ramming them off their bikes and dragging them along the road” which often involved a machete.

On October 7, 2021, the teenager travelled to Richmond Park on a stolen moped along with three other males.

He then targeted a man riding a high-value bike and began chasing him at speed and deliberately crashing into his side to knock him off.

The victim was a professional cyclist named Alex Richardson was dragged across the road at speed as he held onto his £15,000 bike.

The teen then threatened Alex with a large machete and forcing him to hand over his bike.

Police were called to the scene but could not trace the suspect.

Alex was training for an upcoming race, but the incident had left him with injuries to his ribs, back, knees, ankles and arms and suffered head pain as a result of his head hitting the road.

Alex told police that he thought he “could be murdered at that moment and it continues to cause feelings of anxiety, stress, sleepless nights”.

While the police investigation was ongoing, two similar incidents took place in the Richmond Park area on October 11, 2021.

At around 5pm, a man in his 50s was confronted for his bike in Roehampton Lane, but the theft was unsuccessful as the teenager failed to drive into him and he was able to escape.

Moments later, the defendant rode into a second man on Danebury Avenue, SW15, and stole his bike.

The victim was also threatened with a machete and suffered injuries as a result of his fall.

The following week on October 15, police executed warrants at several addresses but could not find the suspect.

The officers involved then headed to nearby café for breakfast to discuss next steps and whilst they were there, the wanted teenager walked into the same venue.

He was arrested and searched.

He was found to have a machete tucked down his trousers, a balaclava, and a large quantity of cash.

On March 16, the now 17-year-old appeared at Croydon Youth Court where he admitted two counts of moped-enabled robbery, one count of attempted robbery and possession of criminal property.

He was sentenced to 12 months (six months' imprisonment and six months on licence) following a hearing at Wimbledon Youth Court on April 18.

Detective Constable Ian Croxford, from Operation Venice, said: “The defendant carried out a number of terrifying offences with no regard for the safety of the victims or the injuries he could cause by ramming them off their bikes and dragging them along the road.

“It was only by good fortune that none of them were more seriously hurt.

“All of the victims have spoken of the effect these robberies have had on their lives.

“No-one should have to change the way they behave because of the violent actions of others and we are pleased that this defendant has now been prosecuted.”

Mr Richardson said: “This crime made me fear for my life; I thought I could be murdered at that moment and it continues to cause feelings of anxiety, stress, sleepless nights and a fear to my family’s safety to the point we have hired overnight security at our property on more than one occasion.

“I have a huge fear of riding my bike now on open roads in the UK as this could happen again at any time. My children have also been affected, they have had disturbed sleep and are traumatised by what they saw in the evening with my physical injuries.

“No one should have to feel this way. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what I have.”

Detective Constable Ian Croxford added: “I want to sincerely thank the public who responded to our media appeal about this incident and shared videos from their cameras and CCTV.

“We would always ask victims or witnesses to contact us as soon as a robbery occurs – the ‘golden hour’ is critical to us in gathering crucial evidence and suspect descriptions which helps us to catch the offenders.

“We know the impact robberies have on each and every victim and we are determined to both reduce the number of offences that take place as well as improving our detection rates.”