A woman was robbed at knifepoint was she walked home along a darkened street after weeks of urging for her neighbourhood to be better lit.

Sairah Benson, 31, was mugged by youths who threatened her with a six-inch hunting knife as she walked along Cross Road, Addiscombe, last week.

The robbers stole her purse, mobile phone, Christian Dior handbag and irreplaceable mementos - but left her relieved she had not been killed.

Mrs Benson, and husband Tariq, 29, of Alpha Road, had repeatedly contacted Croydon Council's streetlight contractor Skanska with concerns about dim lampposts and blackouts in the month before the robbery, at around 6.45pm November 10.

The City of London banker, who moved to Croydon to live with her husband after they married in August, said: "I saw two lads on the other side of the road.

"Both of them approached me and one of them pulled out what I think was a hunting knife because it had a really long blade. 

"He asked me to give him my bag and I just gave it him. Then he pushed the knife towards me and said, 'Give me your phone'." 

"It was scary, really shocking. I haven't lived in Croydon long and we were planning to buy another house here, but if I can't even walk home at 6.45pm then I don't think I'm comfortable living here much longer."

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Sairah Benson moved to Croydon to live with husband Tariq in August

Among the items stolen were irreplaceable prayer beads given by her grandmother before her death, but Mrs Benson said: "He could have flicked his hand and stabbed me and it could have been an even worse scenario. I might not have been here today."

Mr Benson, an investment banker, contacted Skanska, UK Power Networks and the council about the lighting in the month before the robbery.

He said: "Historically there have been very dim and poor lighting over the three years I have lived here."

A council spokeswoman said: "We were very concerned to hear about what happened to Mrs Benson.

"There has been a fault with power lines in this area, which meant power wasn’t reaching the street lights.  

"UK Power Networks, who own and maintain the power cables, have been working to resolve this issue. They were able to get power back to the majority of street lights by 4 November , however some were left with reduced power.

"Our contractors Skanska carry out twice- monthly checks of all our street lights.  Following concerns they went out on November 5 and confirmed that the lights were on. We will be going out again tonight to check them again.”

A Skanska spokesman said: "It is very concerning when incidents like this occur.  We all work very hard to try to ensure that Croydon’s streets are well lit.  

"Skanska tracks and monitors the street lights in Croydon very regularly and works extremely closely with UK Power Networks, which owns and maintains the power network,  when a power problem arises."

But Mrs Benson said: "If there is another spot where people are complaining about lighting, I hope they think about it because next time it could be a murder inquiry."

The robbers were both white, aged 15 to 17, and around 5ft 10ins tall. One wore a dark jacket and a scarf over his face and the other worse a light jacket and a bandanna over his mouth.

No arrests have been made. 

Anyone with information can contact the Metropolitan Police on 020 32762225 or Crimestoppers anoymously on 0800 555 111.