Six youths arrested following three muggings following swift actions of Palace security guards

A GANG of youths on a mugging spree in the grounds of Alexandra Palace received a nasty surprise when they were thwarted by a group of attentive security guards.

Security Operations Manager Andy Marr was getting changed in the CCTV room to head home at the end of his shift, when he spotted the beginning of a mugging spree which saw the group attack three youngsters and steal their possessions.

The group, who eventually tracked down five of the six robbers as they attempted to escape, have been praised by police for their efforts.

Mr Marr said: “I was actually getting changed in the room to head home and happened to see the incident and stayed on – it’s just part of the job.

“We just happened to be looking at the camera at the skateboard park and saw a group of youths come in and mug a kid who was skateboarding so we got hold of a couple of the guys and asked them to head to the area and also contacted the police.

“We then saw them mug another kid and head to the basketball courts where they robbed another person.”

Two mobile phones and cash were taken from the victims, probably, Mr Marr believes, after verbal threats were made.

“It didn’t look nasty, it looked more like intimidation verbally,” he said.

Led by the CCTV footage security guards gave chase through the park as the youngsters tried to make a getaway and nabbed them near the deer enclosure where five of the six were arrested by police – the sixth escaped by bicycle.

“There are cameras all around the park but to actually see an incident taking place is quite lucky,” said Mr Marr. “It’s a good result and shows we are there and monitoring the CCTV and when we do see an incident, we respond – fortunately we had a positive result.

“Police have reviewed and taken copies of the CCTV footage and have said they will write to Alexandra Palace to recognise our work and the footage provided, which led to the arrest.

“I am really proud of the team here in responding so quickly and turning a bad situation into a positive one.”

A police spokeswoman confirmed that three 15-year-olds and a 12-year-old had been charged with conspiring to commit robbery and bailed for a second appearance at Highgate Magistrates’ Court today.

Two other youths, aged 15 have not yet been charged but arrested and bailed to reappear at a north London police station in November.