A gang of eight masked men threatened to stab a young boy at Bluewater before stealing his phone at the weekend in the second such attack in a matter of days.

The victim's concerned mother took to Facebook to warn other parents about what happened.

KMTV with the latest details on the case

In the post, which was shared more than 2,000 times, she claims her son was approached near the crazy golf area at the Greenhithe shopping centre at around 4.40pm where the gang surrounded him.

She added: "They demanded he gave them his phone or they was going to stab him. They took the phone and gave him a slap and push but thankfully nothing to mark him.

"My son ran to the road trying to flag down cars for help and luckily a lady stopped and took him back in to Bluewater where they phoned me.

"The police have taken a statement and said he did the right thing to just give them what they wanted because a phone can be replaced but a life cannot.

"We are counting our lucky stars as this could have been a lot worse which doesn't bare thinking about.

"I never thought this would happen to one of my children so please be vigilant when out and about and warn your children of the danger."

It comes one week after a similar incident outside the shopping centre, where a man was robbed by a masked gang.

Bluewater spokesman Brandon Tourle said: "We are aware of an incident which took place on Saturday. As this is a Police investigation, all enquiries are being dealt with by Kent Police.”

Police spokesman Jo Pattinson added: "We received a report of a robbery at around 4.40pm on Saturday outside Bluewater in Greenhithe.

"The victim was reported to have been threatened and then assaulted by a group of people who had their faces covered before a mobile phone was stolen.

Inquiries into the incident are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Kent Police on 01474 366149 quoting crime reference 46/233521/19.

Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or using the anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org

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