BOLTON children are so worried about being robbed by other youngsters that many refuse to go into certain areas.
And concerned parents have even requested personal alarms for them from Victim Support.
The youngsters involved call it "taxing" -- according to Bully Free Zone, this is "a cross between coercion and violence".
Around half of all bullying cases dealt with by the Bolton anti-bullying initiative involve possessions going "missing". These range from mobile phones or bicycles to jewellery or pencils.
Kath Rose, project manager at Bully Free Zone, said: "Mobile phones are No.1 on the hit-list, but it could be anything else."
She added that most of these incidents take place out of school -- because teachers would pick up on threats made there. But the streets and outside corner shops are popular places for this crime.
It can be a case of one child putting pressure on another or gangs of children picking on one child.
Children involved are aged "six or seven upwards", she said.
"They cajole it out of them -- but with a menacing side to it," said Kath.
Threatened violence is more common than actual violence as a lot of children are wise to the fact they will get "in trouble" if they physically hit someone, she added.
"But it can happen to anybody -- it's just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the number of cases will actually be higher than young people admit.
"On some estates, children are reluctant to go on their own and they wouldn't want to go to shops which are targets.
"In nice areas, too, young people are intimidated by other young people."
Reasons for "taxing" are complex, said Kath: "They have nice things and they want to show them to people. Possessions mean a lot to them these days and their mobiles mean the world to them."
She said most "taxed" items are probably kept by the "taxer".
Children who have been the victim of "taxing" often tell the parents their possession has been "lost" -- for fear of the bully retaliating.
At the same time, these children worry about getting punished by their parents for losing things. She urged parents to be "investigative" and find out what has actually happened to "lost" items.
Victim Support district manager, Kath Bradley, also said there has been a "spate" of mobile phone robberies by youngsters during the summer holidays in Bolton town centre. But areas such as Westhoughton, Horwich and Breightmet have also been affected.
The police refer these cases to Victim Support who send a letter to the parents, offering help and advice.
Over the last couple of weeks, three or four families have requested personal alarms as a result. One of the latest cases saw a girl aged 11 being the victim of "taxing", having to hand over a mobile phone -- and 50p.
"The parents are buying phones for the children for their safety -- but the other side of the coin is that it's encouraging people to steal their mobiles -- especially as they are expensive," said Kath.
"The parents buy them for their peace of mind but this is a knock-on effect."
PC Stuart Ashall is involved with Operation Hawk, a five-year programme by Greater Manchester Police to reduce the rate of robberies -- including those committed by and against children.
So far, he has spoken to 3,500 children across the borough about personal safety.
The project includes advice for children on how to deal with attacks and mobile phone marking sessions in school.
At school, phones are often stolen from bags left in corridors, he said, but "taxing" elsewhere also happens. They are hanging outside on the street at night and they might be walking down and suddenly there are demands to: 'Give us your phone, or take what's coming to you'.
People look at that as bullying but if there is a threat being made or they feel they are threatened physically, and feel vulnerable -- that's robbery.
He advises: "If you are going to use it, use it with your back to the wall, then you are under less chance of attack."
"Children are quite brave, they will carry on using mobile phones. We go along and give advice. When they have been attacked, for months afterwards, they can feel this fear."
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