Crooks rob 100-year-old woman in Romford
CALLOUS thieves who targeted a frail 100-year-old woman are being tracked by detectives from Romford.
Officers are seeking four men and a woman believed to have been involved in robbing the wheel chair bound centenarian on Thursday, 4 August in Market Place, Romford.
At about 2.45pm the pensioner withdrew some money from Halifax bank, Market Place, Romford. The victim noticed two men standing in the bank who were acting suspiciously and did not appear to be there to use the bank.
She then continued her shopping with her daughter when they both noticed four people, a man and woman standing together and two other men watching them.
One of the men tried to engage them in conversation but appeared to have limited English. The victim's daughter felt they were attempting to distract them so she urged her mother to hold onto her handbag.
The pair then made their way to Debenhams and as they went to use the store's disabled toilets they were followed by five suspects.
The first suspect approached the victim and placed a tube map across her handbag whilst pretending to ask for directions. Moments later she realised her bank book was missing along with the large quantity of cash she had withdrawn from the bank.
The suspects are described as:
Suspect 1: A white woman with a foreign accent, of slim build with dark blonde hair, approximately 5' 4" tall. Aged between 20 and 30 years.
Suspect 2: A white man of medium build with short dark brown hair, wearing a dark coloured suit approximately 5' 10" tall. About 35 years of age.
Suspect 3: A white man of medium build with a foreign accent, wearing a yellow jacket approximately 5' 11" tall. About 45 years of age.
Suspect 4: A white man of medium build with dark brown hair and a foreign accent. About 25 years old.
Suspect 5: A white man wearing dark clothing with facial stubble a foreign accent and a heavy build. About 40 years old.
Detective Constable Barry Carter, of Romford CID, said: “I would urge anyone with information to come forward. This is a busy shopping area. The gang appear to have adopted a well-known distraction technique by concealing the victim's possessions from view and stealing the contents of the bag.
“The incident has left the victim and her daughter extremely shaken and we urge anyone with information to contact us."
Anyone who can assist is asked to contact police by calling 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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