More than £4,000 now raised for Oswestry purse snatch victim, 87
A week after an 87-year-old woman fell victim to a distraction theft in Oswestry, the community has rallied around to raise more than £4,000 for her.
The woman was shopping in the Aldi supermarket on Oswald Road in Oswestry on the morning of October 23, when two men carried out the theft.
CCTV images captured the woman wheeling her trolley around the supermarket at 10.25am, when one man started showing her items on the shelf.
As he does this, the other man spends around 10 seconds rooting through her bag, before taking it and walking off.
Last week an Oswestry resident, Amanda Williams, set up a JustGiving fundraising page to show the victim there "is still some good in the world",
She posted on the page saying all the donations will be handed to Oswestry Police Station and then forwarded on to the victim.
Miss Williams set a target of £200, however the fundraising total has now surpassed £4,000.
She posted on the fundraising page: "The response has been amazing. Thank you every single one of you who has liked or shared or donated. I am so proud of you all."
Oswestry mayor Vince Hunt paid tribute to the community for rallying round the victim after a traumatic incident.
He said: "I can bet money that the suspects are not from around here, but we have a fantastic community in Oswestry and what they have done speaks volumes for the town.
"What has happened just shows what a wonderful place and community Oswestry is."
On Monday, West Mercia Police said their investigations into the incident were ongoing.
Police believe the two suspects are eastern European and in their 40s.
One man is said to have short hair and was wearing a smart blue jacket, while the other was bald with glasses, stocky and wearing a black jacket.
See the fundraising page at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/amanda-williams-1
Anyone with information is asked to ring police on 101. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org
