A TEENAGER who had a knife held to his throat during a subway robbery is appealing for witnesses to come forward.

The 19-year-old and his two friends were followed into a Basildon subway on their way home from the BP garage on Nethermayne, where the thugs pulled out a knife and demanded they empty their pockets.

The victim, from Pitsea, said: “Two men came over and asked us if we smoke. After we said no, they started to get quite close so we tried to walk off, but they followed us and said ‘if you don’t go under the subway we will stab you’.

“I tried to be as compliant as I could, especially when he pulled out a knife and began pushing my friend, telling him to empty his pockets. He held the knife up to him and took his phone.

“My other friend managed to dump his wallet under a nearby car, and I told them I didn’t have anything. We tried to run but they chased us.

“They held a knife to my throat and forced me to hand my phone over and tell them the password. I handed it over so they’d leave us alone and then we ran as fast as we could to my friend’s house and called the police.”

He added: “It’s scary, but I’ve been jumped before back in February, so I knew what to do and tried to focus on keeping myself and my friends safe.

“I kept turning round to make sure they weren’t following us and when we got back we locked all the doors. I’m now trying to get back into my normal routine and I’m just relieved we’re all in one piece.”

The victim’s family hope that anyone who can assist the police with their investigation will come forward.

His mum, 43, from Pitsea, said: “As a mother it’s very worrying, I have two children who clearly aren’t protected. My son and his mates only walked to the garage which is five minutes away from where they were staying and that happened, I was in shock.

“They should be able to walk to the shop without being attacked or mugged. As soon as Basildon gets dark no one is safe. “We need CCTV, patrols, the lights on at night, just something to help catch whoever is doing this.”

A police spokesperson said: “We were called at around 10.40pm on September 22 with reports that two teenagers were threatened and robbed in Roundacre, Basildon. The victims, aged 19 and 16, were not harmed. Anyone with information should call 101 quoting crime reference 42/152061/19.”