Fresh warning over 'despicable' pickpockets operating in Horsham

It follows an incident when an 82-year-old woman shopper had more than £800 stolen from her bag while she was in Horsham’s Cancer Research shop in East Street.

Now shop manager Victoria Godfrey is urging everyone to be on their guard and is aking other businesses in Horsham to alert their customers.

“I am asking anyone working in Horsham to please put a clear note in their shop window and at the till point regarding pickpockets in town,” she said.

"I think the only way we are going to stop these despicable people is to warn everyone coming into our shops, cafes, restaurants etc.

"Older vunerable people seem to be the target and have been followed from the bank after getting money out.”

She said the 82-year-old theft victim in her shop had just been to Santander to draw out the cash.

“There seems to be more of it going on in Horsham at the moment and the elderly are getting targeted all the time.,” she said. “Prevention is one of the key things.”

She said she herself had been a victim of theft when her handbag and contents was stolen while she was at a local garden centre. “I can relate to how traumatising it is. What made it worse was it was stolen off my husband’s mobility scooter,” she said.

"I really want to stop this happening to so many people.

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Meanwhile, Sussex Police are appealing to people to be vigilant following a number of distraction thefts at Horsham supermarkets and elsewhere in Sussex.

Officers are investigating a series of linked reports involving elderly and vulnerable women who have had bank cards and money stolen from them after a person has inconspicuously watched the victim enter their PIN number at the checkout before sending a description of the victim to a second person waiting in the car park.

That person then distracts the victim while they’re unpacking their shopping, allowing another suspect to steal purses and bank cards from the victim’s handbag.

In most cases, say police, the victims have not noticed their purses or cards are missing until they get home. “By this time, money has already been withdrawn from their account,” said a spokesperson.