Three jailed after man stabbed at Gidea Park station

Three men who robbed another man at knifepoint at Gidea Park rail station have been jailed for a total of nine-and-a-half-years.

The victim was stabbed in the hand after he handed over cash and his phone to Lee Lawrence, 32, of Redcar Road, Harold Hill; Steven Hirst, 41, of Vaughan Williams Way, Brentford, Essex; and Harry Groves, 35, of no fixed abode.

The trio pounced on the victim, a 25-year-old from Newham, as he entered the waiting room on platform three at Gidea Park, at 9pm on Sunday February 19.

Lawrence held a knife to the victim’s throat while the other two searched him, taking two phones and �100 in cash.

Fearing for his life, the victim handed over his property before he was attacked by Lawrence, sustaining a deep stab wound between his thumb and finger on his right hand.

At Basildon Crown Court on Friday (December 14) Lawrence was sentenced by Judge David Owen-Jones to five-and-a-half-years in jail for wounding with intent, with a four-year term for robbery and one-year for possession of an offensive weapon, to be served concurrently.

Groves, of no fixed above, was sentenced to four years for robbery. He is currently already serving another sentence from a previous conviction.

Hirst was given two years, suspended for two years for robbery with a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement and a 12-month supervision order.

DC Tim Keep, from BTP’s Criminal Investigation Department and who led the investigation, said: “Following an appeal for information in the local media, we were able to identify the men responsible and immediately arrest them.

“I’d like to praise the victim for coming forward to police in what must have been a terrifying incident which understandably left him fearing for his life.

“Fortunately this type of incident is extremely rare on the rail network and the chances of becoming a victim of crime are very slim.”