A TEENAGE boy was threatened, jostled and forced against a wall in an attack in which thieves netted just £1 and a condom, a court heard.

Abu Hanifa, 19, of Holmbury View, Hackney and brothers Mohammed Rezwan Ali and Mohammed Ashraf Ali , 22 and 20, of Homerton High Street, are all standing trial for robbery at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

They are accused of surrounding a 17-year-old boy on the evening of May 9 2008, before searching his pockets and stealing the coin and the condom, as well as an Oyster card.

One of the group is also alleged to have shouted, “I want to get my fists out” during the incident in Chelmsford Road, Woodford Green.

Both the Ali brothers say they tried to diffuse the situation, telling the others to “leave it” and “forget it”.

All three men deny any part in the robbery, although they have admitted being present at the time.

Giving evidence today, witness Eloise Farley told the court how she saw a group of five or six Asian youths surrounding one white boy as she drove along Chelmsford Road with her friends.

She said: “I saw a group surrounding him and I knew something was wrong.

“The way they were around him, something looked wrong. They dispersed in opposite directions.”

She stopped her car and told the victim to call the police while she drove off to see if she could spot the group and then returned to pick him up once officers arrived.

"He seemed shaken up and a bit distressed," she said.

Miss Farley also described later seeing a group of Asian boys at a bus stop, whom she believed to be responsible for the robbery.

Two other youths, Shabir Chowdhury, 19, of Oak Hill Gardens, Woodford Green, and Mohammed Tai, 18, of Fellows Court, Hackney, have pleaded guilty to robbery.

The trial continues.