Jedward star Edward Grimes left ‘shaken’ after being robbed in London
Edward Grimes, pictured in London in May, has been the victim of a crime (Getty)
Irish singer Edward Grimes, best known for being one half of the duo Jedward, has revealed that his phone was snatched from him in London by a “phone stealing ring.”
Grimes told his followers about the incident on the Jedward Instagram page, which he shares with his twin brother and duet partner, that the experience has left him “shaken.”
He wrote: “Hi it’s Edward. Someone has stolen my phone so if anyone’s trying to get in contact with me, don’t be worried as I’m just really shaken right now! My whole life is on there. I’m just really thankful to have John now but I won’t be able to be contacted.”
In a separate post, Grimes gave more detail about what happened to his phone, including that the thieves were caught on camera, saying that he hopes that will be enough to “get them arrested and justice will be served” to “crack down this phone stealing ring in London.”
This is not the first time Grimes has been targeted while out in London, sharing an incident last year in which two masked men tried to mug him while he was talking on the phone in the capital.
Phone thefts across the UK have increased by 150% in the last year, with three-quarters of the incidents occurring in London. The Metropolitan Police’s officer for phone theft previously told the Guardian that the large amount of footfall in London provides a “wonderful opportunity that have been committing thefts elsewhere to come into London, which is a more lucrative market”.
Many of these crimes go unresolved, with the police closing the case within 48 hours of reporting the theft – the Evening Standard reported in August that half of mobile phone thefts were “screened out” and not taken further for investigation by the Met Police.
It is therefore unlikely that Grimes will be able to get his phone back, due to the speed and efficiency of many of the phone thieves across London.
Grimes soared to fame alongside his brother John as part of the duo Jedward during the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009. They finished in sixth place and have since released four studio albums.
Jedward has also represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest in both 2011 and 2012.
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