Intruder manages to tailgate into Bristol Uni ASS library and steal student’s phone

A final year Bristol Uni student has had her phone stolen in the Arts and Social Sciences library (ASS) by an intruder who managed to break into the popular study space.

The incident took place in the ASS just ahead of the Easter break on 30 March.

The student, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a third year business management student and spoke to The Bristol Tab about what happened. She said herself and a friend were approached in the ASS by a man claiming to need help with translating English into Italian.

Both students came away from the interaction feeling “very shaken up” as they say he was reluctant to leave them alone and kept getting close to them.

Straight after the interaction the student realised her phone was missing and tracked it on her iPad but it was already at the bottom of St Micheal’s Hill.

The distance between the ASS and the bottom of St Michael’s Hill

The student asked the front desk for help but said both the front desk and the university security were “rude and undermining” towards them.

Since the incident, Bristol University security have allegedly provided no updates to the student who resorted to filing a police report.

The Bristol Tab has learned another security guard was seen handing round a photo to students of the alleged intruder in the Arts Complex advising them to show their friends in case further students saw him.

The student whose phone was taken said: “I now feel very concerned with the university safety as a random man can just walk into the university  facility and the university is taking no immediate action on this”.

It is common to see students leave their personal belongings out in the library in a bid to save their seat especially in exam season when competition for a spot in the library spirals.

The student added she received really good support from her department and wellbeing team and they’ve helped guide her towards the right resources that the university offers. More than two weeks later, she still has no phone and “no access to money, or anything at all” and says she has received little input from the university security.

A spokesperson from the University of Bristol told The Bristol Tab the theft is being investigated by the police and added that “incidents of this nature are rare on our campus” but “it’s a good opportunity to remind students to be mindful about people tailgating them into university buildings”.

The university’s library regulations published on its website say personal belongings are brought in at “the user’s own risk” and “the library cannot be help responsible for loss of, or damage, to personal property”.

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