A “HOMELESS man” allegedly forced two girls to withdraw money from a cashpoint at a Southend train station during a terrifying robbery - sparking a police probe.
The British Transport Police and train operator c2c have both launched investigations after a series of social media posts highlighted the incident at Southend Central Station.
According to the posts, a homeless man armed with a knife forced the victims to withdraw cash and stole the money on Tuesday night.
It is unclear how much was stolen during the robbery, but British Transport Police has launched an investigation and urged any witnesses to come forward as a matter or urgency.
The post on X, formerly known as Twitter, claimed staff failed “to interject” and help despite witnessing the incident.
Daniel Cowan, Southend Council Labour leader, said: “My thoughts go out to the victims because they’ve been through what would’ve been a terrifying ordeal and getting all the support from the relevant authorities.
“This sad case highlights there’s a general lack of people feeling unsafe in public spaces and ultimately, this can be taken back to the huge cuts in policing over the last 14 years.
“I hope once the investigation has been done, c2c do provide better training for staff in how to respond in situations like that and hope no similar situation happens in Southend again.”
The initial Facebook post, in the c2c customers group, stated: “Just to make people aware, my daughter and her friend were coming home from work at Southend Central and were forced to take money out their bank account at a cash machine by a homeless man with a knife”.
No arrests have been made so far but British Transport Police insisted the investigation is “ongoing”.
A spokesman for the British Transport Police said: “British Transport Police received reports of a robbery at Southend Central railway station at 10.13pm January 15.
“Enquiries into this incident are ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016, or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 610 of 15/10/2023.
A c2c spokesman added: “We are aware of and are investigating reports on social media of a robbery taking place at Southend Central station on Monday, January 15.
“It would be great if you can include the BTP reference number requesting information from any witnesses to support the investigation: ref 610, available on 0800 405040.”
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