A top envoy and her visiting parents have been mugged on Lion's Head - just a week after five people were attacked in separate incidents on the same day.

And the diplomat hit out at what she said were failures to beef up mountain security. The incident brings the number of such crimes on the mountain this year to 30.

Katrin Simon, vice-consul at the German consulate in the city, and her parents were robbed of their valuables on Lion's Head by two muggers, who ran towards the city.

Simon was walking just above Ocean View Drive with parents Gabi and Achim Simon when two young men appeared, threatening them and demanded money and valuables. They were robbed of a video camera, digital camera and cellphone.

"There was no one around. We were unsure if they were armed; one looked as if he was holding something in his hand, but we couldn't see what it was.

The shocked family ran down the mountain and were helped by Bantry Bay resident Steven Frankal, who later took them to the parking area to get their car. They drove to Camps Bay police station to report the incident.

The attack on the diplomat and her family follows a spate last Thursday, when five people were mugged in three incidents on the contour path near the old King's Blockhouse on Devil's Peak.

The attacks have prompted the City of Cape Town, Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited to devise a plan to curb attacks before the mountain becomes a no-go zone.

Simon blamed the attack on a lack of security on the mountain, alleging that at the time of their attack none of the mountain patrollers was visible.

"I've been staying in Cape Town for the past two years and every time there is a mugging, authorities always promise to have more patrols, but when we were robbed no one was there."

She rejected complaints of a lack of security and said 42 staff patrolling the mountain were covering a large area and could not be everywhere at once. But she promised 18 more patrol staff for Lion's Head from December 1 and 60 volunteer monitors during high season.

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