A terrified university fresher was held at knifepoint by a gang during a 20-minute mugging and forced to transfer £6,000 of Bitcoin.

Eight men stormed into the Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) student's accommodation, took his phone and demanded he hand over security passwords to financial apps.

The victim was left so traumatised by the robbery in Parham Road, Canterbury, he was forced to move back home and was offered counselling.

But none of the eight men were charged and the investigation into the shocking mugging was dropped by police.

The victim's mum, who has not been named to protect both of their identities, spoke to KentOnline about the incident and has warned other students to be vigilant.

She said the victim had been talking about cyber-currency to his housemate five days after he started at CCCU.

"It was the first friend my son made from university and he was from London," she said.

"They were sharing the same student house, having a puff and just having lads talk.

"The conversation turned to financial and the housemate started talking about cyber currency."

The housemate invited eight school friends down from Dagenham, according to the victim's mum.

"They came inside and they went into the kitchen area," she added.

"(My son) saw them, they gave him a look and he knew he was in trouble.

"The housemate left the room and they barricaded him in and held him at knifepoint."

They demanded the victim enter security codes into his financial apps on his phone and he was forced to transfer about £6,000-worth of Bitcoin and his £3,000 student loan.

Bitcoin is a digital currency which was created in 2009 and reportedly offers lower transaction fees than other methods of online payment.

It is operated by a decentralised authority, unlike government-issued currencies.

The value of the victim's Bitcoin is now estimated to be worth about £68,000.

The mugging lasted for about 20 minutes before the eight men fled the scene and the victim rushed over to a security hut and also phoned police.

"(Campus security) had a report of a disturbance in the house but they said it was too late and didn’t come to the house," according to the victim's mother.

"He phoned the police and they didn’t attend because there was something more important on that night. My son’s girlfriend went and sat with him for the night.

"The only action the university took was moving him to different accommodation.

"He was too traumatised so he moved back home even though he had safer and better accommodation."

"He phoned the police and they didn’t attend because there was something more important on that night..."

The robbery, described as a "clever" crime by the student's mother, had a devastating impact on him.

"He was terrified, emasculated, humiliated and abused," she added. "You don’t hand over £10,000 if you don’t think you’re not going to get injured."

None of the money could be refunded and the investigation was dropped after eight months following the incident on September 21 last year.

The victim's mother said she was frustrated with the response from security staff at the campus and police.

In a warning to other students, she added: "The police commonly call freshers week 'fishing week' because all the criminals come down.

"They know the students have got grants, laptops and new stuff. Attacks, assaults and muggings are quite common across the country."

Canterbury District Commander Chief Insp Mark Hedges confirmed police were contacted about the robbery which happened at 1.30am on September 21, 2020.

"The incident was reported around 45 minutes after the robbery had taken place, and during the call it was established the offenders had left the scene," he said.

"As a result, it was arranged for officers to visit the victim the following day on September 22, when further details of the robbery were disclosed, including the theft of a mobile phone and the transfer of a significant amount of cryptocurrency from the victim’s account.

"A thorough investigation into the incident was carried out, including a review of local CCTV opportunities, analysis of Bitcoin 'wallet' IDs and exploration of possible forensic evidence.

"However the case did not meet the evidential test and the three suspects were refused charge..."

"Following inquiries, three men were arrested on suspicion of robbery and interviewed. However the case did not meet the evidential test and the three suspects were refused charge.

"Kent Police takes the safety of the county’s student population extremely seriously and encourages all young people to take all steps possible to ensure they do not become victims of crime while studying away from home."

A spokesperson for CCCU said the safety of students is "paramount importance".

"The reported incident was investigated and thoroughly reviewed," they added.

"We offered the student wellbeing counselling, financial support, and a relocation of accommodation.

"We also encourage students and staff to download the SafeZone app..."

"At Christ Church, we strongly believe all students have the right to live and study in a safe and supportive environment.

"To ensure student safety on campus and within the community, all University accommodation has 24/7 security on site.

"We also encourage students and staff to download the SafeZone app. This alerts the University’s security team from a phone instantly if a user feels in danger.

"Our website has more information to help our students and includes a list of emergency phone numbers, details of the Safe Taxi scheme, and information about the City’s Street Marshals."

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