‘I’m scared to walk home at night’: At least 600 Londoners 'sick of phone theft' flock to Dubai for self-defence retreat

Phone thefts in the capital hit a record high last year, with the Metropolitan Police recording 116,000 cases in a 50 per cent increase since 2017. This amounts to around 13 thefts per hour.

Southwark and Hackney were among the worst hit boroughs – which is why Dubai-based GymNation chose these areas to advertise for its free self-defence retreat.

The gym said it was offering an "escape" for Londoners "sick of phone thieves".

The campaign quickly went viral, with at least 600 Londoners having signing up in a single month, data shared with LBC shows.

The six-weeks of classes come at no cost at all - if you can afford flights to Dubai and accommodation in the city.

Emma Taylor, 29, says she signed up as she wanted to brush up on her self-defence skills after two of her girlfriends were mugged in the capital.

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Ms Taylor, who lives in Wandsworth, South London, told LBC she keeps keys between her knuckles when it’s dark and wants to feel more confidence walking the streets at night.

When she spotted GymNation’s advert on a billboard in London she saw it as the perfect opportunity.

She told LBC: “I'm way more aware [of phone thieves] now than I ever was. You see it everywhere. You see it on social media, you see it on the news.

“Obviously being a woman and walking around on my own, I think it's probably not just phone theft that freaks you out, but.. all your senses are heightened.

“I don't think I'd walk around anywhere in London feeling super safe. I don't know what I think I'm going to do with my keys in between my hands but like I would always be on guard. I think I'm always walking at a million miles an hour.”

Rory McEntee‏, Chief Marketing Officer at GymNation, said he had the idea to launch the campaign after learning four of his London-based friends had their phones robbed this year alone.

He told LBC: “The idea is to offer Londoners an opportunity to escape, to give them more confidence,” he told LBC.

“We're just trying to help provide a fresh solution to restoring Londoner's confidence.

“With self-defence, it's primarily empowerment and giving people more confidence as opposed to anything else.”

The free six-week class, which focuses on Muy Thai fighting techniques, has also seen 187 expats sign up.

“Because we received a lot of attention on the campaign, expats have seen it, over here and said ‘actually I'm going back to the UK. I wouldn't mind brushing up on some self-defence before I return,” Mr McEntee said.

It comes after Dr Lawrence Newport from campaign group Crush Crime warned London is facing a "phone theft epidemic".

He said: "We are in the midst of a phone theft epidemic, and our government is failing to act.

"Our politicians need to wake up to reality: they need to stop this epidemic, and push our justice system to catch, convict and imprison these career criminals.

"Half of all crime is committed by just 10 per cent of offenders, meaning only a small number of career criminals are committing most phone thefts."