A man has been charged following a series of muggings in the west of Cambridge over the weekend.

The spate of connected attacks occurred between Saturday and Monday earlier this week.

In a spate of violent incidents, victims reported being approached during the early evening and forced to hand over valuables to two youths wearing balaclavas.

Shaun Sandford, 19, of Queens Close, Over, was charged with ten offences of robbery at Cambridge Magistrates Court yesterday.

The first three robberies, all in the west of Cambridge, took place between 11.20pm and 11.35pm on Saturday night in Queen’s Road, Grange Road and Madingley Road at 11.35pm.

Victims reported being approached by two offenders wearing homemade balaclavas and being forced to hand over valuables, including mobile phones and cash.

Two further robberies, in Storey’s Way and Queen’s Road, took place late on Sunday night.

Following reports of these often violent incidents, police increased patrols in the area. Three suspects have since been arrested: Sandford, a 16-year-old boy and a 36-year-old man.

The 16-year-old has been bailed to reappear at Parkside Police Station on March 11th.

The 36-year-old man remains in custody at Parkside Police Station.

Despite these arrests, police have encouraged Cambridge residents and students to maintain vigilance at all times. Police Liaision Officer Carol Langton said that students should not get “complacent” and should always “be aware of their surroundings and not advertise personal effects”.

She also stressed the importance of registering property on www.immobilise.com. “We’ve successfully tracked down the owners of items we’ve retrieved. It does actually work,” Langton added.

Detective Inspector Adam Gallop added: “We would ask people in the area to take sensible precautions with regard to personal safety: stick to well-lit areas, don’t carry large amounts of cash and don’t advertise the fact that you may be carrying items such as ipods and MP3 players.”

A series of thefts has also been reported taking place within Colleges. On Tuesday, a student at St. Catharine’s reported their laptop stolen from their unlocked room. A laptop has also been taken from a room in Clare.