Police unable to find £300 Bloxwich distraction thieves due to lack of CCTV

George Davies was targeted by a white man and woman with foreign accents while in Bloxwich town centre on November 26, at around 10.15am.

Mr Davies, from Bloxwich, had just been to Lloyds Bank, on High Street, and withdrawn the cash, before he was distracted while sitting on a bench in Market Place.

He says a woman asked him about some "brochures" before the man came to his left hand side, causing him to look at him. When he turned around, the money which was in a brown envelope was missing from his bag, while the woman had walked off.

After the incident, he returned to the bank and told staff about the incident who then contacted West Midlands Police.

Officers drove Mr Davies round the town to see if he could spot the suspects, but they could not be found. Officers have studied CCTV of the area but the incident was not captured on film.

'Deeply disturbing

Mr Davies gave a description of the suspects as a tall white woman, in her 30s or 40s, with long black hair and wearing a red coat.

She was with a tall white man with grey hair and wearing a grey mac. They spoke with a foreign accent.

West Midlands Police condemned the incident as "deeply disturbing".

A spokesman for the force said: "It is deeply disturbing that an elderly man has been distracted and robbed of a substantial amount of money.

"These callous thieves have no conscience and we hope that anyone who saw what happened or who knows who they are will come forward and tell us what they know.

"Our officers drove the Mr Davies around the town in an effort to trace them, but sadly they had disappeared.

"The theft was not covered by CCTV so unfortunately we have no leads."

After the incident, Walsall-based firm PRG Roofing & Construction LTD, which was repairing Mr Davies' house, raised £350 to help him.