Former One Direction singer Harry Styles was mugged at knifepoint in his London neighbourhood of Hampstead close to midnight on Valentine's Day.

In a recent radio interview, the 26-year-old told American radio personality Howard Stern on the SiriusXM Show that he was taking a walk at night while listening to music with headphones on when he spotted a group of men lingering on the quiet street.

Sensing potential danger, he crossed the street in an attempt to avoid them, only for the men to tail him. When he crossed the street again and they continued following him, he knew he was in hot soup. He believed the men did not recognise him or know who he was.

One of them then approached him, asking if he "smoked weed", to which Styles curtly replied no. He then asked "what have you got on you", as the other men surrounded the singer.

Deciding that he would rather be safe than sorry, Styles immediately handed over the cash he had on him.

Then, spotting his headphone cable connected to his phone, one of the men demanded that Styles unlock and hand over his phone. Another man hoisted his shirt to reveal a knife. However, Styles refused to comply, telling them "Mate, I can't".

When Stern pointed out that Styles could have been stabbed, the singer explained that his first thought had been how "annoying" it would be to have to wipe his phone clean, including new lyrics that he records daily and saves in his phone.

Styles added that he contemplated hurling his phone into a nearby pond so that "neither of (them) can have it (the phone)", but refrained from doing so in order not to further aggravate the men.

Just then, he saw the headlights of two cars and decided to make a run for it.

"Two cars were coming and I felt an opportunity to (run)," he recalls. "But obviously, when a mad man runs into the road, you won't let them into your car, so they didn't let me in."

But it was enough to stun the men, who did not continue to pursue the singer as he raced back to the "little village near where (he lives)".

Two days after the incident, Styles performed at the Brit Awards 2020, where he was nominated for Best Male Artist and Album of the Year.

He said he was not too shaken by the incident, joking that had he not been alone on Valentine's Day, it probably would not have happened.