Two asylum seekers who robbed a reveller of his £25,000 gold Rolex in London's West End walk free from court

Two asylum seekers who targeted a reveller for his £25,000 Rolex in London’s West End walked free from court today.

Egyptian Yousef Garef and Algerian Amin Abdelkadar were both spared jail and handed community orders on Wednesday. Both admitted to robbery.

The pair, attacked Kris Smith at around 2am in Soho, London on July 21 last year, seizing his gold Rolex Day Date watch.

Garef, 21 grabbed Mr Smith's timepiece, while Abdelkadar, 25 covered his mouth to stifle his cries, as he screamed 'Don't take my watch! Don't take my watch!'.

Donna Longcroft, prosecuting, said: ‘Mr Smith was approached by a male on an e-scooter, who was keenly interested in his watch.

‘About 30 minutes later the victim was walking along Dean Street in Soho.

‘He turned right onto Old Compton Street, and was approached by a male in a white bucket hat, who introduced himself as Yousef.

‘They walked along Old Compton Street towards Wardour Street. Another male followed and spoke to Garef.

‘Garef grabbed the right hand of the victim and put his hand over the watch... Abdelkadar hugged the victim and covered his mouth as Garef tried to take the watch.

‘The victim was shouting: ‘Don’t take my watch! Don’t take my watch!”

Police detained the attackers moments later and the watch was recovered after it fell from Garef’s pocket.

Judge Adam Hiddleston told the pair: ‘You followed and attacked a member of the public with the intent of stealing from him a valuable watch. Such offending has become a scourge of the West End. They have become an all too frequent occurrence in the past few years.

‘These offences took place in the early hours of the morning. You were both acting as part of a group and you were targeting high value property.’

In a bid to tackle watch thefts in the capital, plain clothes officers have posed as victims wearing luxury pieces to catch thieves in the act.

In January, the Met Police released footage of a sting operation, showing the moment undercover officers were pounced on by hooded thugs ripping watches from their wrists, before being caught by back-up officers.

The innovative tactic is said to have halved robberies in some areas, having removed prolific attackers from the streets.

Abdelkadar was handed a two-year community order and Garef was given a three-year community order.

Both will have to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 40 hours of a rehabilitation activity requirement.

They will also be subject to a six month curfew between 9pm and 6am and must reside at the Home Office Asylum Centre in Islington.

The men were issued with a five year criminal behaviour order and will not be allowed to enter the western half of the City of Westminster or have any contact with one another.

‘Any friendship you may have formed ceases now’, Judge Hiddleston added.