No more walking: Joshua van den Berg says he will get a lift to work from now on after being robbed at knifepoint and having his iPod stolen. PICTURE: KATE HEALY
A Ballarat teen says he will now get a ride to work after he was held at knifepoint on a Sebastopol street at the weekend.
Joshua van den Berg, 17, was walking home after a shift as a kitchen hand at a nearby hotel on Sunday when he was confronted by the attacker at the intersection of Albert and Vickers Streets in Sebastopol at 9.30pm.
He said the offender called out “hey buddy” before pulling a knife and demanding his iPod.
“By the time I turned around he had circled around and produced the knife,” he said.
“I asked him to just walk away but he wouldn’t.”
The man also asked what was in Joshua’s bag, but when he was told it was just his work uniform, the offender said “that’s OK”.
“Naturally you don’t want to get stabbed, so you do whatever you can to ensure your safety,” Joshua said.
“So I handed over the iPod and he walked off. I walked until he was out of sight, then ran straight to the nearest servo.”
Staff at the service station then called triple zero.
Joshua’s mum Dotti Voigt said she was relieved her son was not injured.
“The iPod can be replaced – he can’t,” she said.
Ballarat Police Sergeant Luke Miller said the the offender was in his late teens or early 20s and was wearing a dark coloured hooded jumper.
Anyone with information can call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.
