Romford Thug Who Violently Robbed People On Train Jailed.

A prolific and violent thief who robbed three people and attempted to rob three more in only four days has been jailed, following a British Transport Police investigation. 

Teddy Kelt, 20, and of Bower Close in Romford, was sentenced on Wednesday 5 November at Inner London Crown Court to 18 months imprisonment to run consecutively after a 3 year 8 month sentence previously handed down for other offences.

He was also handed a Criminal Behaviour Order to run until 4 November 2040 which will bar him from wearing a face covering on public transport, being in possession of a phone not registered in his name, and places restrictions on his ability to travel on the railway network anywhere in the country.

He had previously pleaded guilty at Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday 9 September to three counts of robbery and three counts of attempted robbery. 

He also pleaded guilty to two public order offences, two counts of possessing a knife or bladed article in public, and common assault.

The court heard how on 4 December 2024, at around 9.30pm, Kelt followed the victim, a 22-year-old man onto the platform of Mile End Underground station and approached him, telling him he had a knife.

He said he would stab the victim if he called for help and demanded his mobile phone. After the victim handed it over, Kelt patted down the victim and went through his pockets before slapping him in the face, pushing him onto the floor, and leaving the station.

The following day, Kelt sat next to a 16-year-old boy on a Jubilee Line train, where he asked about his phone before showing him a machete and demanding he hand his phone over.

Kelt then told the teenager that if he reported the robbery, he would visit him at his college.

Two days later, Kelt attempted to rob three people on a Northern Line train towards Totteridge and Whetstone Underground station, sitting opposite a 21-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy and asking about the man’s watch, threatening the pair.

He then approached a 19-year-old man and asked about his headphones before threatening to stab him for his phone. He dropped his knife on the floor in front of the man before leaving the train.

The next day, Kelt approached another man on the platform of Finchley Central Underground station and asked to use his phone to call a friend. He then followed the victim onto the train showed him the handle of a knife in his waistband, threatening to kill him.

The victim handed over his phone, laptop, and iPad out of fear before Kelt demanded the victim get off the train at Tufnell Park with him. Kelt led the victim into a newsagent before further robbing him of his headphones and rucksack.

Later that day, Kelt attempted to rob a 17-year-old of their phone on an Elizabeth Line train, again threatening to stab him. When other passengers intervened, Kelt attempted to punch one of them. Not long after, on another Elizabeth Line train, Kelt tried to rob another man of his phone and said he would “slash his neck” before walking off.

In total, over four days Kelt robbed three people of items worth nearly £4,000.

Kelt is already serving a 3 years and 8 month prison sentence for three more robberies of items worth around £2,000, two more attempted robberies, two counts of possessing Class C drugs, and possessing a corrosive substance in a public place.

These robberies and attempted robberies took place at Ilford, Gidea Park, Goodmayes, Bexleyheath, and Seven Kings between 29 November 2024 and 9 December 2024. 

Officers identified Kelt after they were called to Gidea Park on 9 December following a robbery he had committed. Officers recognised him in the CCTV footage and attended his address early in the morning, finding him in the garden wearing a stolen coat with several stolen phones in his home.

Detective Sergeant Steven Ridpath-Mitchell said: “Kelt is an exceedingly violent and dangerous individual who spent four days mostly targeting teenagers, threatening them at knifepoint or violently assaulting them, for his own benefit. I hope that this sentence provides some sense of closure to the victims after he put them through such an awful ordeal.

“He’s shown no remorse for his actions, either refusing to be interviewed or providing no comment or reply. The threats that he made against innocent commuters, the frequency of the attacks in such a short time, and the violence he used to rob them of their belongings is frankly sickening.

“There is absolutely no tolerance for robbery on the railway network, and we have regular patrols on trains and in stations of uniformed officers alongside our specially trained plain-clothed officers to detect and deter robbery around the clock.”

Anyone who is the victim of or witness to a robbery or any offence on the railway network or on the London Underground is urged to report it to us by speaking to an officer or a member of staff, by contacting us on our text-to-report number 61016, or by calling 0800 40 50 40.

If a robbery has just happened, always dial 999 – officers can immediately deploy to a location and begin their enquiries to trace offenders.

Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!

We have created community pages where we will share our up-to-date stories happening in the area. Add the area closest to where you live.