A man tried to steal a womans handbag as she was parked up at traffic lights in Salford. The 43-year-old woman was targeted as she was sat in her car waiting at the traffic lights at the junction of Eccles Old Road and Langworthy Road at about 6.15pm on 29 October 2013. As the woman was sat in her blue Toyota Aygo, the thief opened the front passenger door which was unlocked. The thief then got into the car and grabbed her handbag which was on the seat. Instinctively the woman reached over to protect her possessions, which resulted in a struggle over the bag. As a result, the womans mobile phone fell out of the bag into the footwell of the car, but the thief still managed to prise the handbag from her grasp and ran off along Eccles Old Road towards a nearby shopping centre. It is also believed he ran down a small alleyway which leads onto Mitcheson Gardens. The woman suffered a minor injury to her hand during the skirmish. The handbag was later found discarded on Doveridge Gardens in Salford. The thief is described as being white, in his late teens, wearing a blue woollen hat and a dark jacket. Police are now appealing to anyone with information or who witnessed the incident to come forward. Detective Constable Gareth Mark said: This man is clearly an opportunist and took advantage of the fact the woman did not have her passenger door locked while parked up in the traffic. This is the sort of predatory theft we often see in the run up to Christmas as thieves look for any opportunity they can to get their hands on cash. I do not want to give these sorts of criminals any glimmer of such an opportunity, so they are a few steps motorists can take to prevent themselves falling victim to such a crime. I would like to remind motorists whenever possible to ensure their car doors are locked while driving and be vigilant of the people around them while parked up in traffic. Where possible, keep your personal possessions in the glove box or out of sight. I would also encourage anyone who has information about this incident to come forward and help us identify the thief. We believe a second man may have been with him but was not directly involved. They both ran off together so people may have witnessed these men running off in tandem. The woman was frightened and shocked and suffered a minor injury as a result, so we need to find the offender and give this woman some peace of mind. Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 5361 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 11:22:24 +0000
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