Robber fractured victim’s eye socket in Fulham park

Detectives have released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to following a robbery in Fulham.

At around noon on Thursday, September 1, a man, aged in his 50s, was walking southbound through Bayonne Park when he first spotted a man approaching several members of the public.

He continued to walk southbound, out of the park into Paynes Walk, when he was struck on the head.

The victim, who was attacked near the table tennis tables, fell to the floor. The suspect slammed the victim’s head against the floor while ordering the victim to remove his Tag Heuer watch.

The victim tried to fight back but the robber began to punch him and kick him repeatedly in the face. He felt the suspect remove his watch, possibly damaging the pin in doing so.

The suspect ran off but returned minutes later to steal the victim’s Motorola mobile phones. He then ran off southbound down Paynes Walk.

The victim was taken to hospital with head injuries. This attack resulted in a fractured eye socket, severe bruising and swelling to his face.

Detective Inspector James Griffin, who is leading the investigation, said: “This was an extremely violent attack and my team need the help of the public to detain this man.

“We have specialist teams dedicated to tackling robbery and this proactive operation will continue across all of our boroughs.

“We are doing all we can to identify the person responsible before he can cause any further harm. We are asking anyone who was approached by this man in the park or who saw anything unusual to contact us immediately.”

The suspect is a black male of an athletic build with short black cropped hair and light facial hair. He was wearing a green hoodie jumper with light grey bottoms.

Anyone with information should call 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD 3488/01SEP22. Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Picture top: The man police are trying to identify. (Picture: Met Police)