Bromley Council will not reconsider putting CCTV in a park in Penge despite a man being robbed at knifepoint there.

Calls for the council to implement CCTV were prompted after News Shopper reported how a man home from Canada for his sister’s wedding was robbed by knife-wielding schoolkids in Betts Park.

Steven Reed, 27, from Anerley, was forced to hand over his phone to the hooded teenagers who were wearing green school blazers.

His sister Kim Reed said of the September 12 robbery: "You think you are safe but you’re not. The kids didn’t care people were about."

READ MORE - Welcome back - man home from Canada for sister's wedding robbed at knifepoint in Penge park

Crystal Palace ward councillor Angela Wilkins sent her sympathies to Mr Reed and said these attacks are “terrifying for anyone” and can have long-term effects.

She also asked Bromley Council's executive councillor for public protection and enforcement, Kate Lymer, to ensure CCTV and lighting are employed in the park.

She added: "Local residents are too scared to use it after dark. We will be asking her to reconsider. I would also like to know if she is prepared to walk through Betts Park alone at night-time.

"As local residents, we have every right to feel we are safe on the streets. We cannot have our park seen as a ‘no-go’ area."

Betts Park was the scene of a murder in November last year when Michael Jonas, 17, was stabbed to death there.

READ MORE - 'No CCTV covering Penge park' is why charges in Michael Jonas dropped 

Nobody has been prosecuted for his murder and Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard said in May the suspects cannot be seen entering the park because the area isn’t covered by CCTV.

Despite the pressure to reconsider, Bromley Council said CCTV and better lighting is "not the answer".

Cllr Lymer said: "Sadly, this type of crime report (the robbery of Steven Reed) is all too frequent across London but fortunately remains comparatively rare in our borough.

"The reasons are complex but simply installing additional lighting is not the answer as this was broad daylight when this incident happened and sadly neither will CCTV stop these type of incidents either as countless examples show.

"We have also raised this matter with the police and they too were not convinced that with the multiple entrances to this park, that CCTV was the solution, with the large area of park and dark space at night never able to be covered by lighting.

"Part of the solution is that we must support the police in their endeavours and I would encourage anyone who knows anything about this dreadful crime to come forwards, potentially using Crimestoppers in confidence."