An Australian TV crew were mugged in central London and had their NZ$ 27,000 camera snatched off them on Tuesday.
7 News Europe correspondent Laurel Irving had just finished a live cross to the Sunrise breakfast show when she and camera operator Jimmy Cannon were approached by two men in balaclavas.
Mr Cannon removed the camera from its tripod and told Ms Irving to stay back.
"I tried to grab the camera to stop it, and Jimmy said, 'No, no, he's got a gun,' so I let it go," Ms Irving told 3AW radio.
One of the muggers told Mr Cannon he had a gun, and though the pair didn't see it they felt it was better to take caution.
The two men then took off on their bikes carrying the camera, which Ms Irving said was "very expensive, very large and very heavy".
The men were dressed in "upmarket activewear" and were riding mountain bikes, so initially the camera crew weren't too suspicious.
But on reflection, Ms Irving said the balaclavas should have been "a dead giveaway of their intentions".
"Thanks everyone for the love. We're all good," Ms Irving tweeted on Wednesday. "The London crime rate though is crazy."
Mr Cannon also tweeted about the incident, saying: "Hope the public nature of this incident can encourage politicians to take actions that will help curb the surging crime & violence in this wonderful city."
Footage of the robbery has been handed to London's Metropolitan Police.
Newshub.
