A robbery victim was left “shocked” after a moped rider snatched his bag and bashed away his phone.

The robber targeted the man while he was walking in Nightingale Road near Victoria Close, Rickmansworth, and snatched his bag at around 8.45pm on August 29.

Although the mobile phone was knocked out of his hand and smashed, it was then recovered.

Today (September 6), Herts Police have launched an appeal for information. Detective Constable Nathan Kaye said: “This was an incident which left the victim shocked, but fortunately uninjured.

“While these types of thefts are currently in the national news, incidents of this nature remain rare in Three Rivers. Even so we would encourage people to take some sensible precautions to protect their phone and stay safe while using it in a public place.”

The force want anyone who was in the vicinity and saw what happened, or who has CCTV which captured anything, to get in touch.

DC Kaye can be contacted directly via email at nathan.kaye@herts.police.uk and information can also be reported online at herts.police.uk/report, or by calling the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/72215/24.