A rise in violent attacks by gangs in the Aylesbury area has prompted police to step up patrols.
The past two weeks has seen several serious attacks, including a stabbing which put a man in hospital, a robbery where a man was beaten and three people being injured with a samurai sword.
Extra police have been on the beat in the crime zones and a number of arrests have been made.
All of the incidents have involved more than one attacker, but police have reassured people there is no need to fear marauding gangs. The recent incidents are not thought to be linked.
Chief Inspector Olly Wright, deputy area commander for Aylesbury Vale, said: “Aylesbury Vale is not becoming a more violent place, it’s just that a number of things have happened together at once.
“It’s not like we have got a group of people out of control. There’s no suggestion there’s a gang out there.”
In one of the recent incidents, two thugs beat and threatened to stab 47-year-old father David Bowen as he left the Meadow Way Spar store.
Mr Bowen was assaulted as he unlocked his Range Rover. Attackers came from different sides, hitting him round the head and demanding he hand over his car keys and mobile phone.
Aylesbury man Mr Bowen, a company director, said: “I told them ‘you’re not having my keys’.
“There was a scuffle where they managed to get me down. One of them landed a couple of kicks to my head and the other was still asking for the keys.
“Then one of the guys said to the other ‘go on, stab him’. At that point I decided to give the car keys up. I thought he was going to stab me and thought it was better to let him have the keys and get back to my wife and kids than not.
“Then they decided they wanted everything else. They were trying to get their hands in my pockets and pull rings off my fingers and managed to get the watch off my wrist. At that point they ran off.”
Despite taking the keys to Mr Bowen’s Range Rover, the pair left it at the scene of the attack, which took place at 9.45pm on February 12.
Mr Bowen said: “If they had got the keys straight away then would have just jumped in the car. But I think they ran out of time and were in danger of being disturbed.”
As his attackers ran off, a passer-by came to Mr Bowen’s aid and police were called. Police believe they have one of the men responsible in custody on a separate charge.
CCTV images reveal the pair were loitering near the Spar for around 20 minutes and hid when they saw Mr Bowen arrive.
He said: “They were waiting for an opportunity to rob somebody and the right person came along.”
Mr Bowen says he would like to see the ‘scumbags’ jailed for what they did.
He said: “People running around like that shouldn’t be allowed to run around.
“People who do a violent robbery have no place in a decent society.”
The day after Mr Bowen was attacked a man was stabbed several times in the stomach after being approached by three people as he walked through an alleyway off Redcliffe Walk. Two men and a woman have since been arrested on suspicion of GBH in connection with the incident. They have been bailed until Saturday. The victim has been discharged from hospital.
Four men from Luton have been arrested and bailed until April 6 after three people were injured with a samurai sword in Wendover on February 8. One person also had their wallet and iPod stolen during the robbery.
On Sunday a 21-year-old man was robbed of his iPhone by three men near Buckingham Park.