By Rory Reynolds
A STUDENT has told of her mugging “nightmare” after a spate of robberies in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh University student Alison Hastings, 20, was entering her flat when a hooded woman threatened her with a metal object and stole her handbag.
Alison was confronted just yards from the headquarters of Lothian and Borders Police as she made her way home on Sunday night.
Yesterday the maths student, from Aberdeen, said: “I reached my flat door and was trying to find my keys, I’d been out shopping and I had my iPod on.
“She came up behind me and grabbed my handbag.“She was wearing a grey hoody with the hood up and she didn’t say anything, she looked like she was on drugs.
Screwdriver
“When she took the handbag from me she was holding this metallic object at waist height, maybe a screwdriver.
“I had my mobile, £60 cash, and my purse with all my cards in.
“It was all very fast – it was like a nightmare.
“I screamed, a lot, and made a lot of noise. Luckily a girl came out from another flat and she took me into her flat.
“She was maybe 5’1’’, with a pale face and she was wearing a grey hoody and baggy black trousers.”
The attack is similar to another just three blocks from Montague Street in south Edinburgh on January 12, where a woman with a similar description tried to rob a 20-year-old student.
Lothian and Borders Police said they are investigating whether or not the muggings were the same person.
Linked
A spokesman for the force said: “Both of these incidents involved a female suspect presenting a weapon to rob a female victim of her belongings and as such, we are looking into the possibility that they may be linked.
“Anyone who was in the Montague Street area around the time of the incident yesterday, or in East Preston Street around 10.20pm on Tuesday, January 12 and witnessed anything suspicious should contact police immediately.
“Similarly, anyone who recognises the description of the suspect and can help us identify and locate her should also come forward.”
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