A 21-year-old food delivery driver was robbed in Limassol during the early hours of Saturday morning, the police said.

The man was riding an electric bicycle through the city when he was accosted by two people who were riding on a moped at around 12.10am.

The pair demanded that he stop, and he tried to escape, but fell of his bicycle and injured his knee.

They then stole cash from him and fled the scene. The police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.

Saturday’s incident is the latest in an ongoing wave of crimes committed against delivery drivers in Limassol, with the city’s police’s deputy operations director Marinos Vasiliou having spoken about the issue in November.

Then, he said that “there is an element of imitation by, obviously, young people, from one area, young people from another area, but there is no connection that indicates that this is an organised group committing these types of offences”.

He added that the police in this regard “have a difficult job”, and he then added that “there are a large number of delivery drivers operating in this city and we cannot have a police car behind every single one.”

He said the police have mapped the area where attacks on delivery drivers have been recorded and said “preventative measures will be increased” in these areas, but also said there may be other cases in other areas which have not been reported to the police.

Earlier that month, Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis met Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou and police chief Themistos Arnaoutis to discuss the matter, saying “this is a serious and concerning phenomenon.”

Beyond the offence, it also has a racist element,” he added.

Panayiotou said at the time that all workers have the right to feel safe at work, and added, “such behaviours have no place in our country, which victimise the vulnerable and weak employees, particularly when there is a racist element in these cases.”