Police have released two images of women they would like to trace after an elderly woman was targeted after she left a Nottingham city centre bank.
The 86-year-old victim had taken a bus from Bulwell to Nottingham city centre on Tuesday, December 6 and arrived at around 12.40 pm.
The victim had a coffee and then visited Lloyds bank in Lower Parliament Street at around 2.12 pm.
She has asked for a £2,000 withdrawal as she prefers to pay in cash rather than by card and placed the envelope at the bottom of her handbag.
It is believed she has been followed into the bank by two women and watched.
She then left the bank and went shopping at the Victoria Centre.
She was approached by a woman in a shop who has asked for her help to retrieve an item from a shelf.
As she left the shop, she noticed her handbag has been rifled through and the envelope is missing.
PC Madison Moss-Hayes, who is investigating the incident, said: “This was an appalling theft on an elderly victim who is very active and enjoys her regular trips into the city.
“She has lost a considerable amount of money, which has understandably left her distraught. We are doing everything we can to catch those responsible and bring them to justice.
“We have released images of two women we would like to speak to who could help us with our inquiries. If you know the two women or are the two women in the images, then please get in touch immediately.
“We would also like to appeal to anyone taking large amounts of money out of their bank to take precautions or try and avoid doing so. Thieves will often use distraction tactics such as appearing like they need help with something or trying to befriend you in order to catch you off guard.”
If you know the two people in the images, then please call 101 immediately quoting incident number 0500 of 6 December 2022 or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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