Prince’s friend ‘feared being stabbed by phone muggers’

Thomas van Straubenzee was robbed while walking home from work, Kingston Crown Court was told yesterday.

Winful Taylor, 27, of Stockwell, south London, denies robbing Mr van Straubenzee of two mobile phones and his wallet and its contents on November 30 last year.

Daniel Robinson, prosecuting, told the jury: “The prosecution case is that Mr Taylor, together with another man whose identity we don’t know, committed a robbery.

“We say that the two of them robbed Mr van Straubenzee of his mobile phones, two of them, and his wallet containing bank cards and some cash.”

Mr Robinson said Mr van Straubenzee, 29, was robbed just after 7.15pm in Albert Bridge Road, to the west of Battersea Park.

“He was on one of his mobile phones to a friend of his, and a man approached him and grabbed him by the throat.

“A second man almost immediately ran at him and knocked him over, in something like a rugby tackle.

“One of the robbers sat on the lower half of his body, the other robber put his knee on his neck, and his mouth was covered by one of their hands.

“One of them started to go through his pockets, and the robbers told him that they had a knife.

“They took his phone off him, and Mr van Straubenzee handed over the rest of his property, because he thought he was going to be stabbed.

“They took his two mobile phones – one a Nokia, one a BlackBerry – and his wallet with its contents.

“A passer-by came to his assistance and police were called at 7.18pm.”

Mr van Straubenzee was able to give police the IMEI number of his red Nokia phone, which identifies the handset, Mr Robinson said.

Two days after the robbery, at 9pm on December 2, police arrested Taylor at a hostel where he was living in Streatham, south London.

He had two mobile phones with him in a bag. One was a Samsung and one was Mr van Straubenzee’s red Nokia, Mr Robinson said. Taylor denied responsibility for the robbery, and said he bought the Nokia for £20 the previous day from a friend.

The trial was adjourned until 10am today.