GANG ATTACKS ALONG THE CANAL.

There have been dark stirrings along the canal of late, with the Police advising local women not to walk the canal towpath while alone at any time because a bunch of scumbags of unusually extra nastiness have been prowling the stretch along the grand union between North Kensington/Ladbroke grove and Camden town, mugging people in ways of steadily escalating violence, including the use of weapons and the threat of rape.
The Police have been spotted over the past couple of evenings around the Harrow road/Little Venice stretch of the canal prowling along in the darkening gloom, mob handed in a small agile boat, grim faced, stony silent and obviously on some sort of mission, the cracking of the ice before their boat was (still is?) the loudest thing about them as they glided along on the lookout.
Lights might help.
The use of lighting along the canal during darkness for the few hours before the gates are closed in the evening would put off all but the most dangerous and mental muggers, putting off a lot of the 'chancers' who take advantage of both the cover of darkness and surrounding traffic noise to slip easily away unnoticed.
One way which may help the situation a bit could be to tap (in the correct manner of course) into one or two of the lamp posts on the Westway above, with the juice from that the canal could be lit up brighter than a, errr.... very bright thing along its whole length.
It might also encourage more people to use the canal more which could have the roll on effect of making everyone safer, and that may even dissuade the occasional be-shorted idiot from their 'must cycle as fast as possible get out of my way' selfish lunatic cycling speed and attitude ("slip damn you!").
I hope the mugging buggers fall in the water, knocked in and followed by the gits who cycle the towpath at silly speeds.