AN elderly Belbroughton woman had a handbag stolen by a doorstep caller claiming to be collecting for charity.

The distraction burglary happened on Monday, September 29, at around 1pm when the pensioner opened the door to a woman who said she was collecting for Children in Need. The victim went upstairs to fetch some clothing to donate and when she came back down, the caller had disappeared. The woman then realised her handbag had been stolen.

The brown leather handbag contained a small amount of cash and her bank cards.

The thief is in her 50s with olive skin, 5ft 6in tall with a medium build and straight shoulder length blonde hair that looked like it had been dyed. She was wearing black open-toed sandals, black trousers and possibly a light coloured top. She was also thought to be wearing earrings.

Detective constable Brian Mortelmans said: “We are appealing to anyone who saw a woman matching this description in the Belbroughton area on Monday to give us a call. Equally, if this woman called at your door claiming to be collecting for Children in Need, we’d like to hear from you.

“We are also extremely keen to highlight this crime to elderly or vulnerable groups and so would urge anyone with elderly neighbours or family members to discuss this incident with them. Remind them to double check the identity of any unexpected callers at their doors and not to let anyone in unless they are completely confident that they are who they say they are. Genuine callers will not mind this at all.”

Police will also be liaising with neighbouring forces regarding the incident. This follows West Mercia’s participation in the national campaign, Operation Liberal, which, recognising the transient nature of criminals taking part in doorstep crime, aims to share, collate and analyse information across borders in an attempt to link offences and secure the successful prosecution of offenders.

Anyone with information should call DC Mortelmans, in Bromsgrove CID, on 08457 444 888 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.