Robber snatched £30,000 watch from elderly man’s wrist near London’s Hyde Park

A robber who ambushed an elderly man and snatched a £30,000 watch from his wrist on a central London street has been jailed.

Zakaria Senouci, 27, was ‘handsomely rewarded’ after stealing the watch in April 2025, but the crime has left the 73-year-old victim so anxious that he now plans to move abroad, Southwark Crown Court heard.

CCTV showed Senouci ‘loitering’ with another hooded accomplice on the corner of a street near Hyde Park before sprinting towards Sunil Chopra, grabbing his left arm and ripping the Patek Philippe watch from his wrist.

Mr Chopra could be seen in the footage to have spun around after his arm was pulled, and he then saw Senouci fleeing down the street with the watch.

Senouci, an Algerian asylum seeker, changed his plea to guilty to robbery on the first day of his trial last month.

Today, he was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. Because he’s an asylum seeker, his case will be referred to the Secretary of State for a decision on deportation at the end of his sentence.

The watch, which Mr Chopra had hoped to pass on to his son, was not insured and has not been seen again.

District Judge Mark Weekes told Senouci: ‘CCTV and cell site evidence show that you and another individual had travelled to the area and were loitering for some time, the obvious inference is that you were seeking a suitable target for your activities that night.

‘You see, Mr Chopra approaches. You allowed him to pass. You yanked from him a very valuable watch.’

Judge Weekes said Senouci took the watch with such force that it scratched Mr Chopra’s arm and tore his shirt sleeve.

He added: ‘The watch was of profound sentimental importance to Mr Chopra and his family. The intention was that it was to be passed on to his son as a family heirloom.

‘He was entitled to feel safe in his own neighbourhood – he no longer does.’

A year after the robbery, the victim is ‘hyper vigilant’ and is making plans to leave the country, the court heard.

Mr Chopra no longer feels safe, has anxiety, the robbery has altered his behaviour so he tries to avoid risk, and he has nightmares.

The judge added: ‘Tragically, as a consequence of the offence, he no longer feels safe in this wonderful country and thinks he may have to leave the UK.’

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