A THIRTEEN-year-old boy was threatened at knife point and had his phone stolen in the latest case of children coming face-to-face with knife crime. 


Last Wednesday, shortly after 5pm, it has been revealed a boy was threatened at knife point in Gordon Road, Basildon.


The same day, police received a report that a child had seen a knife brandished during a road rage incident on St Nicholas Lane, Basildon, near the James Hornsby School. 


Slightly further afield, a girl was threatened at knifepoint between Taffrail Gardens and Broughton Road, South Woodham Ferrers, at 8.30am on Thursday. 


The incidents came shortly after the Echo revealed in last Monday’s paper, that police were linking five separate incidents of armed gangs robbing young people on May 8. 


The worrying rise in children being threatened with knives, also saw a teenager charged with attempted murder following a stabbing in Mendip Close, Wickford, on May 12. In relation to last Wednesday’s knifepoint robbery in Gordon Road, police attended but were unable to find the culprit.


The five linked incidents on May 8 saw a 13-year-old boy approached by older teens, one of whom had a knife, in Victoria Road, at 5.30pm.
On the same day, a 23-year-old man was approached by three men described as aged 18 to 20 in Railway Approach, Laindon, at about 5.30pm. 


One of them threatened him with a knuckleduster and demanded money and tobacco. In a later incident, a 15-year-old boy was threatened by three men in a park in Westmayne at about 5.40pm. His bag was stolen.


A 16-year-old boy was approached by suspects at 6pm in High Road, Pitsea, and they demanded his mobile phone.


When he refused, two of them punched him in the head.


A 15-year-old girl who shouted at them to stop was pushed to the ground, but uninjured. The suspects fled when other passers-by intervened. 


The suspects were described as aged between 18 and 20 and white. One was about 5ft 7ins tall, of athletic build, unshaven and had short black hair. He wore a black body warmer and dark trousers. Call 101 with information.