Speaking publicly for the first time about his ordeal at a Tube station in northwest London, the 46-year-old Asian man said that he was lucky to be alive.

Only 30 minutes after the mugging, Tom ap Rhys Pryce, 31, was ferociously attacked as he walked home after a night out with colleagues last Thursday.

The chef, who asked not to be named because he feared reprisals while the killers were still free, told The Times that he was shocked by how cold and calculating they had been.

The man, who is originally from Bangladesh, said that he obeyed their orders as the well-practised thieves frisked him soon after 11pm on Thursday.

After finishing his shift at an Indian restaurant he had gone to Kensal Green Tube station to complete the last leg of his journey home. He was targeted after the muggers got off a northbound Bakerloo Line train.

“I had sat down on the platform waiting for the train,” he said. “A train pulled in but wasn’t the one I wanted. The two men, along with other passengers, got off the train.

“I watched as people walked along the platform towards the stairs to leave. But then the men came up to me. Standing on either side of me they calmly said, ‘Stand up, brother’.”

He said that his attackers, who were in their teens or early twenties and wearing hooded tops, were menacing as they towered over him. “I was very scared,” the 5ft 4in chef said.

“I stood up and froze. I didn’t move. I said, ‘Just take everything’. They put their hands in my pockets. I held open my coat. They searched me the way a police officer might: patting clothing. They took my house keys and then gave them back.”

The robbers, who did not produce a weapon, stole his travel card and about £60 in cash. But when he repeatedly denied having a wallet they continued to frisk him.

“The hijack lasted two or three minutes. I couldn’t say anything — I was in shock. I can only thank God that I am alive. It clearly wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”

The men swaggered towards the station exit and the chef jumped on a train. He reported the incident to Tube staff the next day. He then learnt of the murder and gave the police vital clues to the possible identities of the killers.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• The real-life adventures of Tintin the spy
• Our universities face a radical upheaval
• Doctor Who