A barrister shown on CCTV being ambushed by machete-wielding thugs has collected an 84,000-name petition calling for the blades to be banned from online sale.
Andrew Dinsmore was walking along a Chelsea street with his fiancée after a meal at a restaurant when he was confronted by the robbers, who jumped off a scooter and ripped his watch from his wrist, the video shows.
He said one of them screamed “give me your f****** watch” while waving a machete in his face.
Mr Dinsmore, 32, who is also a Tory councillor for Hammersmith and Fulham, said after the incident he had researched how easy it was to buy a machete online.
He found that not only were they easy to order but recommended purchases when ordering a machete include balaclavas.
Mr Dinsmore told the Standard: “Machetes are everywhere and are being used in terrifying crimes. You can buy them online, with retailers trying to sell you a balaclava at the same time.
“This has to stop. There is no legitimate use for these weapons. We banned flip blades, we banned samurai swords, now we need to ban machetes.”
Recounting the incident on Old Church Street on May 2, Mr Dinsmore, told the Standard: “We had just had dinner and were walking along in broad daylight.
“The moped rode up to us — one of them pulled a machete from his tracksuit. He threatened me and kept saying ‘give me the f****** watch’.
“I let him have it. It had great sentimental value but I feared for my life. My fiancée actually thought it was some kind of terror attack, it was totally terrifying.”
One male has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob Mr Dinsmore. He will be sentenced at a date yet to be fixed. A second male has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to rob. His trial date has been set for October 31.
Sign the petition here.
