A 15-year-old boy has been convicted of robbery after he stole a smart watch and other items from a victim in north London, intimating to him that he had a knife.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 26 January where he pleaded guilty to robbery.

He will be sentenced at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 19 February.

On Thursday, 7 January at about 17:20hrs, the victim, aged in his was on his way home and had just passed Seven Sisters School, N15, when he was approached by two black male teenagers.

One of the suspects indicated to his waistband as if he had a knife and ordered the victim, aged in his 20s, to hand over his blue puffer jacket and his Apple Watch. The victim managed to hide his phone from the robbers.

One of the suspects then told him to go to an ATM, but on the walk the victim’s phone slipped down and became visible to the two suspects.

After seeing this, they chased the victim who ran as fast as he could towards his home and managed to get inside and shut the door. Both suspects made off quickly.

Shortly after the robbery, officers on patrol saw two males jumping over fences and circulated it on the radio as suspicious. Another unit on patrol heard the radio announcement and sighted the defendant who matched the description and the officers gave chase on foot. He was then detained.

Upon searching the suspect, officers found the stolen Apple Watch.

Meanwhile, the victim had used the Find My iPhone app to track the Apple Watch the suspects had taken.

He could see it was in Chestnut Park, N15. He decided to go and take a look and was surprised to see a group of police officers with the 15-year-old defendant detained.

The victim approached the officers and stated that just prior to this he had been robbed by two males and gave the circumstances.

At 18:45hrs, the defendant was arrested on suspicion of robbery. He was taken to a north London police station and was subsequently charged on Friday, 8 January.

The watch was returned to the victim when it was verified as belonging to him.

The second suspect has not been located.

PC Daryl Belsey, the investigating officer from the North Area Robbery Focus Unit, said: “The victim was, understandably, left shaken by the whole incident. There’s no room on our streets for this kind of violent behaviour and we are committed to finding the perpetrators of offences like these. This incident shows how important it is that officers on patrol rely on their instincts to recognise suspicious activity.

“I would also like to reinforce the importance of reporting crime to the police straight away by calling 999 or 101 so that the necessary action can be taken.”