A smartly-dressed man mugged a 12-year-old schoolboy in broad daylight in the centre of Faversham.

The parents of Bradley Rickard, who had his £500 iPhone snatched from his hands, have spoken of their frustration after they were told there is little chance of catching the thief.

They have also been told that despite the mugging happening in Preston Street - one of the town’s busiest streets - there is no CCTV footage of the brazen theft.

Bradley was dressed in his Abbey School uniform when the man, thought to be about 18 years old, targeted him outside Faversham Kebab House at about 3.45pm on Friday, September 19.

Bradley said: "My friends were inside the shop and I was with just one other friend outside.

"The man walked past and asked for the time because his phone had run out battery.

"I got my phone out to give him the time but all I could say was 'it is…' before he grabbed it, said 'cheers' and starting running up Preston Street.

"He looked liked he went under the station subway and people said they heard him laughing hysterically as he ran past the Chimney Boy.

"It was really gutting to lose my phone like that and for a couple of seconds I just didn't react because I was in shock."

When Bradley realised what had happened, he called out to others in the street but claims everyone ignored his pleas for help.

He had been asking his parents Donna and Jamie for an iPhone for months, and had only been bought one a week before it was stolen.

Donna was at their family home in Cluny Road when she heard the news and went straight to Bradley's aid.

She said: "He has been so upset since the incident but it really makes me angry that not one person asked him if he was OK or tried to stop the man running up the street.

"Now we have been told that there is possibly no CCTV in Preston Street – how can this be?

"I'm so grateful that he wasn't attacked but I am still shocked as you just don’t expect something like this to happen in broad daylight in Faversham."

Police say they are investigating the theft and describe the suspect as white, aged between 16 and 18, of medium build and with short, dark brown curly hair.

Jamie said: "If the police were called out to a burglary where £500 worth of items were stolen, they would be treating that a lot more seriously than how they are handling Bradley's case.

"But he has received so much support from his friends and hopefully we can make other kids more aware that these sort of people are out there and to be careful."