are bike thieves targetting women for violent street mugging?

yesterday (mon 8th) at 5.30pm- broad daylight- outside seven sisters school i got mugged for my bike by a group of teenage boys. as i cycled past these boys - one of them shouted 'bike'and next thing i was drop kicked in my back - the bike was taken off me as ilay on the floor and i was kicked repeatedly by 8-10 teenage boys. these young boys continued to kick me in the back and head for some time after taking the bike. i gave chase and followed some of them to ida road- behind chesnuts park. these boys were all in Park View academy school uniform, short hair, afro-carribean and aged between 12 and 14.

i have since heard of two other such incidents in the local area where women have been kicked off their bikes by boys of the same description and the bikes stolen! one of these women was cycling along South grove last saturday, noticed a boy beside her and then he started high kicking at her head so she just gave the bike over to him before she got badly hurt. thats two similar incidents in a very small area in a few days!

are women being targeted as a soft option by boys in street muggings for bikes?

has anyone else heard of such incidents?

I think its vital to for warn women cycling to be extra careful about where they are and who is around them- especially in the vicinity of chesnuts park and surrounding areas. if i had been aware of these other incidents to women by teenage boys i would have taken a different route when i saw the boys ahead of me or would have stayed on main roads where possible

Mel