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Thieves stab man in heart after luring him to fake Gumtree sale
Justin Davenport, Crime Correspondent26.08.09
A man was stabbed in the heart and left for dead after replying to a bogus advertisement for a car on listing website Gumtree.
The 42-year-old victim took £5,000 in cash with him to a rendezvous in a street in east London with a man he believed was the seller.
When he arrived he was punched and kicked to the ground by two men before being stabbed six times. Detectives say the knife pierced his lung and heart and it was extraordinary he was not killed.
They believe the man's life was saved by a passer-by who intervened in the attack and the skills of air ambulance doctors who carried out open heart surgery at the scene.
The victim has been released from hospital after the attack on 30 July and is recovering at home. Today Scotland Yard issued a warning to people who use classified internet sites saying the number of robberies involving criminals posing as sellers was on the rise.
Police also issued an urgent appeal for witnesses. The victim was set upon by two black men in their early twenties in North Street, Barking, at 3.50pm.
Witnesses described seeing him lying on the ground trying to hold on to a bag while two men punched, kicked, and finally stabbed him.
One man rushed to help and the assailants ran off empty-handed over a footbridge towards Ilford.
Police say the victim had been intending to buy a Volkswagen Golf he had seen advertised on Gumtree.
Detectives later established that the registered keeper of the car was unaware it had been offered for sale. Two men were arrested nearby at the time but later released on bail.
Detective Chief Inspector Ellie O'Connor, of Barking CID, said: "This was a brutal attack on an innocent man who was responding to an online advertisement in good faith.
"This came very close to being a murder since the victim was stabbed in the heart and ended up having open heart surgery. He was very fortunate and probably only survived because of the bravery of someone intervening and the skills of the doctors.
"The victim is making a slow recovery but he is very shocked and distressed by what has happened."
Ms O'Connor said: "Someone must know who did this and we will treat witnesses sensitively and can protect their identity."
She said the attack was unusual in Barking and Dagenham but the total number of thefts involving classified sites had increased.
Police said the numbers were still low - less than a 100 each year - but other incidents in London involved thefts from people going to buy mopeds, laptops and iPods.
The Gumtree website offers safety advice to people saying they should meet people in public places and take someone else along.
Ms O'Connor also advised people not to carry large sums of cash. She said: "Do not go to the meeting point alone, make sure that you meet in a busy area and never allow yourself to be lured away."
