Phone muggers leave man with suspected broken nose after attack in graveyard at St Thomas Church in Lymington

A man suffered a suspected broken nose when muggers snatched his mobile phone in an attack in a Lymington graveyard.

The offenders – two men and two girls – targeted the victim, who is in his late teens, outside St Thomas Church on St Thomas Street between 5.45pm and 6pm on Saturday.

Having been approached by the quartet, he was assaulted and his phone stolen. It was later recovered but had been damaged beyond repair.

As the incident took place during a busy time of day, police are urging people to come forward if they witnessed it.

DC Lisa Cole said: “It also happened adjacent to The Six Bells, which was busy with patrons at the time.

“If you were in The Six Bells that night, do you recall seeing anything which might us in our investigation?”

DC Cole continued: “The victim described people passing by and being told not to intervene by the attackers.

“Perhaps you were one of these people. If you were please get in touch with us.”

Officers also want to hear from those who may have any useful photos or video footage.

A 33-year-old local man has since been charged with robbery in connection with the incident.

He was due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court today (Monday).

A 57-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl, both also local, were arrested on suspicion of robbery but have since been released on bail pending further enquiries.

Anyone with information should contact the force online at hampshire.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting crime reference number 44240039174.

Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously at crimestoppers-uk.org or on 0800 555 111.