Thousands stolen from woman in Shrewsbury distraction theft
A distraction theft in Shrewsbury has left a woman "shaken up" and thousands of pounds out of pocket.
The victim was approached as she stood next to her car at the Meole Brace Retail Park in Shrewsbury by a man asking for directions to be written down to a hospital.
Her handbag was in the foot well of the car at the time, but when the woman next went to the bank she discovered three of her cards were missing and that thousands of pounds had been taken from her accounts.
Police have urged witnesses or anyone with information to come forward, while a Facebook post describing the theft – which happened at about 11am on Tuesday – has been shared more than 1,000 times.
A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: "The woman went outside to her car and placed her handbag on the front seat which contained her purse.
"An unknown man, described as in his 40s or 50s, tanned with a beard and was well-dressed with a suitcase, approached her and asked her for directions. He then asked her to write it down and draw a map, while this was going on her back was to the car.
"The next day she realised three bank cards were missing and money had been taken from the account."
The spokesman also said it was thought another man had watched the victim enter her pin earlier in the store.
Call police on 101 quoting incident number 336 of September 23.
