Warning after elderly woman is victim of an attempted distraction theft

Gloucestershire Constabulary is warning residents to please be vigilant after it was reported that an elderly lady was the victim of an attempted distraction theft in Cheltenham yesterday (Thursday).

Police were called shortly before 3pm following reports of an attempted theft in the car park of Morrisons on Caernarvon Road.

It was reported that the lady was approached by two teenage girls who asked if she would like to sponsor them, the victim agreed to give them £5 and was then asked to fill out of a form on a clipboard.

The victim was filling out the form when she disturbed the girls as they were attempting to take money from her purse, she questioned the girls about this and they dropped the money before running away.

Anyone who was in the supermarket car park at the time or who has also been the victim of this is asked to call 101 quoting incident 226 of 19 December.

With Christmas approaching and members of the public being out and about more we are asking the public to remain vigilant and please report any suspicious activity by calling 999 if offenders are still in the area or 101 for a non-emergency issue.

Tips on keeping safe can be found here:https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/personal-fraud/ and https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/personal-safety-how-to-stay-safe/