Three schoolboys were robbed by two men with a knife in Swiss Cottage on Tuesday in the latest in a spate of muggings of young victims.

The boys, aged 12, were forced to hand over mobile phones and a wallet in the robbery in Harley Road at around 4.30pm.

The latest in a spate of knifepoint muggings has sparked some parents to send their children on self defence courses.

One mother said: “As knives are involved, I want my son to be able to defend himself.”

The suspects in the latest incident were described as black men aged between 16 and 18 years old. There have been no arrests.

As reported in the Ham&High last month, pupils were warned to be alert at going home time following a spate of muggings by teenage gangs.

In one incident, a schoolboy was mugged by two teens dressed in hoodies in Hampstead Lane, Highgate.

In another, a boy was on his way home from school when three teenagers surrounded him at the junction of Wood Lane and Muswell Hill Road at 4.15pm and threatened to beat him up if he didn’t let them search his pockets. However, the gang failed to take anything.

A third victim was punched before escaping from two youths, one of whom was wearing a mask, after the pair demanded he give up his mobile phone on December 11 at the junction of North Hill and Church Road.

Officers launched an undercover operation with plain clothes officers patrolling Highgate and Muswell Hill using stop and search to target suspects.

Anyone with information about the latest mugging in Harley Road should call police on 101 quoting crime reference number: 4851/13.