Rare coins stolen in attack on pensioner

A pensioner was attacked with a baseball bat and sprayed in the face with a mystery substance by two thugs who then stole his prized collection of rare coins.

The 69-year-old was ambushed as he returned to his home in the Black Country from a coin collectors' fair.

The yobs attacked the man as he unloaded the coins from his car in his street in Coseley. They got away with a haul worth thousands of pounds. West Midlands Police today described the crime as a "particularly nasty" attack.

Spokeswoman Joanne Hunt said: "He was approached by two men who sprayed him in the face with some kind of substance and assaulted him with a baseball bat.

"They also damaged his vehicle before stealing property valued at several thousand pounds, plus an amount of cash.

"The victim suffered an injury to his arm and a cut to his finger but did not require hospital treatment."

It is not yet known if the robbers planned the attack or if it was an opportunistic crime. Sergeant Jimmy Jones, from Coseley East neighbourhood police team, said: "This was a particularly nasty attack.

"If people are offered rare coins for sale we would ask them to contact force CID.

"The Coseley neighbourhood team will be doing all we can to reassure residents. We will be carrying out extra patrols. This type of nasty attack is rare in Coseley."

One of the attackers was a white man, aged around 35, 5ft 10ins tall, stocky build with dark hair. The other was a mixed race man, in his 20s, also 5ft 10ins tall of slim build and wearing a brown hooded top. They escaped in a white vehicle.

Det Insp Nigel Smith from Dudley local policing unit said: "We are investigating the robbery and are appealing for any witnesses or anyone who has information about the attack to contact us. The property stolen includes rare British discontinued notes and coins."

Anyone with information can call police at Dudley on 0345 113 5000.