A HORRIFIED mum has described the moment her 16-year-old son had a knife held to his throat by thugs who stole his iPhone.

The mum-of-four, who wishes to stay anonymous to protect her son's identity, was distraught when she learned that on Saturday, February 8 her son was mugged at knifepoint on Thatto Heath Park.

Her son, who has only recently turned 16, had got the bus from St Helens town centre to Prescot Road and was walking through the park to meet friends on Thatto Heath Road.

But before he could leave the park he was grabbed by two people on bikes.

The incident happened inside the park on the path near the entrance on Lugsmore Lane, near the library.

She said: "I dropped him off in town and he got on the bus to meet his friends, he walked down Crossley Road and then into the corner of Thatto Heath Park and could see his friends in the distance at the bus stop on Thatto Heath Road. That was at 8.45pm.

"But before he left the park two lads who he hadn't noticed earlier jumped off bikes and dragged him into the bushes. He could feel something being pushed into his back.

"They said 'give us your money' he said no and that's when they took what was behind his back and he could see it was a knife as long as his arm.

"They put the knife to his neck and said 'give us your phone'.

"So thank god he did, they made him unlock it and put his password in for his Apple ID then they wiped it, so they must have done this before.

"He only had £20 on him but they took that too.

"Then police sirens went past, it was for something else but they panicked and got off him.

"They ran over to their bikes saying 'you called the police'

"I shouldn't laugh but my lad then said 'How can I phone the police you muppets you've got my phone?' and thankfully they just rode off then.

"He went to his friends, who hadn't seen this happen and called his dad then me.

"I just thank god he gave them his phone. Honestly it's terrifying thinking that if he hadn't or if the police didn't go past then I might have had a different kind of call entirely.

"He saved up for ages to get that iPhone 11. He'd only had it five weeks after saving his birthday and Christmas money.

"He says he shouldn't have give it to them but I told him it's a small price to pay for your life.

"This is just horrible, honestly. I'm so angry my son had to go through this and my mind goes to their parents and wonder how the hell they allow this to happen, because I'd know if any of mine had a knife.

"If anyone saw anything or has CCTV from the area please get in touch. We have an idea of who did this but any help would be useful."

The offenders were both described as black males. One had dreadlocks while the second was wearing a balaclava, and both wore dark tracksuits. They made off on foot through the park.

Detective Inspector Jackie Guinness said: “While the victim was unhurt, he was left extremely distressed after being threatened in this way.

“If you have any information on who could be responsible for this robbery, please contact police so that we can bring them to justice. And if you believe you may have been sold or offered the phone for sale, please get in touch.”

Det Insp Guinness added: “We will never stand by and allow people to carry knives and risk harming innocent members of the public, or themselves. We know that you are more likely to fall victim to knife crime if you carry a knife yourself, and you risk spending a long time in prison when you are caught.

“We regularly deploy officers to patrol key areas and conduct stop searches, warrants and land searches so it is simply not worth the risk.

“If you have any information on people who carry or store knives or any weapons, please come forward to us or Crimestoppers anonymously and we will remove those weapons and people who choose to use them from the streets.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police CC.

You can also call 101 quoting incident reference 20000085245 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information.