Police are hunting the two thugs who threatened the woman with a knife as she was returning to her car on Saturday.

They stole the woman’s handbag and the keys to her car before making off on foot.

We would be naive indeed to think that Warrnambool is a city without violent crime, but it is rare that we see a street robbery as brazen as this on a busy shopping day in broad daylight.

The shameless nature of the crime suggests that the perpetrators were not brave, but desperate, and that in turn suggests that it was a drug-related incident.

Large cities experience this type of crime daily, opportunistic robberies at knifepoint or even gunpoint where the assailant can intimidate and frighten the victim before making off with what usually amounts to a small, personal haul comprising cash or credit cards.

An upsurge in ice usage has resulted in an increase in this type of robbery. 

It is hard to police, but it leaves victims traumatised for a long time afterwards.

Luckily, the victim of the attack at Gateway on Saturday was left unhurt but that does mean that it wasn’t a terrifying experience.

Had it not been for the bravery of a good Samaritan who intervened, the robbery could have been a lot worse.

It takes an exceptionally brave person to stand up for a stranger in trouble at the best of times, but when there is a weapon involved it shows extreme courage and the nameless hero deserves a big vote of thanks.

It is a sad fact that there are many desperate people in all communities, individuals who may have strayed for any number of reasons.

But a bad situation can be made a whole lot worse if a person turns to booze or drugs to try to fix their issues and it is a road that nearly always ends in jail for the criminals and injury or worse for the victims.

It is only a matter of time before police catch the two clowns who took part in this disgusting act on Saturday.

In the meantime, we wish the victim a speedy recovery.