Robber knocked a baby out of a pram as he tried to tear an £80,000 Patek Philippe watch from their parent’s wrist in shocking attack

• Amine Benchoula knocked the infant out the pram as he tried to snatch a watch
• Detectives said it was fortunate that the infant was not more seriously hurt

A callous robber knocked a baby out of a pram as he tried to tear an £80,000 Patek Philippe watch from their parent’s wrist.

Amine Benchoula, 35, was scouting St James’s in central London looking for wealthy targets when he spotted a family walking to their car.

As the father was distracted getting ready to put his child into the vehicle, Benchoula ran up behind him, grabbed his wrist and began yanking at the Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar watch.

In the struggle, Benchoula knocked the infant out of the pram sending the child tumbling onto the pavement before snatching the watch and running away in the direction of Pall Mall.

The child, who was just days away from their first birthday, suffered minor injuries in the attack on June 24.

Amine Benchoula (pictured) knocked the infant out of the pram sending the child tumbling onto the pavement before snatching the watch and running away in the direction of Pall Mall

Detectives said it was fortunate that the infant was not more seriously hurt.

Police launched a hunt for the robber after the shocking incident was caught on CCTV.

Benchoula was later spotted by officers on Edgware Road on July 9.

He was dressed in the same distinctive tracksuit trousers, trainers and baseball cap that he wore when he carried out the robbery.

Benchoula admitted robbery and assault and was jailed for four years at Southwark Crown Court this week.

Benchoula admitted robbery and assault and was jailed for four years at Southwark Crown Court (pictured) this week 

Detective Sergeant Daniel Northcott, who led the investigation, said: ‘This was a terrible robbery that would have had a detrimental impact on the victim and his family.

‘The fact that Benchoula has shown no regard to the welfare of the victim’s baby while committing such a heinous act was of deep concern to me and my team, and we worked hard to ensure the hunt for the suspect was intensified.

‘Unfortunately, the stolen watch has not been recovered.’

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