My robber's still out there, so beware

The police contacted me again yesterday, asking me to go in to view a video ID parade. I watched nine clips of nine different individuals, hoping to be able to point at one and say, 'that's the skank who robbed me'. But the bugger wasn't in the line-up. It seems the police have a robber, but not the robber. Chances are, the pig's still walking around Swansea, lining up new targets.

So I'd like to say to all my readers in the Swansea area, please be very careful, and warn other people you know, especially women and girls, to be wary, too. Try not to carry a handbag or shoulder bag, if you can help it. Carry valuables in a money belt or other concealed location around your body.

Just think - do you really need a bag? Do you need to carry around ten tons of junk you probably won't even use? Hide your phone, keys, cash, iPod, etc, in a safe and inaccessible pocket, if you don't have a money belt, concealed wallet, etc. Don't let this vile creature, and others like him, use your money to fund his heroin habit. Carry only small sums of cash - loose change for things like bus fares, a coffee, lottery ticket, etc. Use your debit or credit card wherever possible - and keep that hidden somewhere other than your handbag, too. If you have more than one card - only take out the one you need, and leave the rest at home.

If you really must carry a bag, make sure it contains nothing valuable. It may be an idea to have a decoy purse in the bag, with just a few coins in, whilst your real purse is hidden somewhere. Just remember - this city is full of drug-addled, robbing scum. They don't give a rat's bum about anything, other than their next fix.

Should you be unfortunate enough to find yourself in the situation I was in on Tuesday, try to keep calm. Don't resist or argue. Just hand your bag over, and note as much detail about your attacker as you possibly can. Don't attempt any bravado. A drug-addicted robber will simply see you as an obstacle to his next fix, if you try to fight him. Give him what he wants, and chances are he'll just grab the bag and leg it to the nearest heroin dealer. He probably wouldn't even recognise you if you saw him again.

Remember - however scary, such incidents are still relatively rare, so don't allow thieving idiots to make you a prisoner in your own home. I have lived in the same area since 1990, in the same house since 1998. I have walked the route where I was robbed, almost daily for the last 11 years, and encountered nothing scarier in the past, than a rat, and an escaped pet ferret. Tuesday's robber is the only knife-wielding rodent I've ever met along there. And let's face it - heroin will one day kill him as surely as rat poison would, so he won't get away with it in the end.

With that said, it's time to move on ...