Police hunt women stealing Rolexes at Redknapp’s golf club

POLICE investigating a series of 50 Rolex thefts are hunting two ‘honey trap’ female suspects who are approaching wealthy men at golf clubs where members include Harry Redknapp.

Two clubs frequented by the retired football manager have been targeted by the women, who are stealing the pricey watches off elderly men’s wrists.

There have been eight reports in the last four months alone from around Poole of two women posing as charity workers in a bid to strike up a conversation with their victims.

Either working individually or as a pair, the women have approached the men – all of whom are in their 70s or 80s – under the guise of asking them to sign a petition.

They have then managed to remove the Rolex watches from their victims’ wrists and made off with them.

Redknapp has been linked to Ferndown and Parkstone golf clubs in Poole, Dorset.

And the two affluent golf clubs have recently been targeted by the thieves.

One of the thefts was reported outside Ferndown Golf Club on July 14, when a man in his 70s was approached by one of the women and sustained a minor injury to his finger in the struggle.

And another was reported outside Parkstone Golf Club last week, on September 21, in which the two women approached a man in his 80s, carrying a clipboard and asking him to sign a petition.

The women have been described as European, with either Spanish or Portuguese accents, and various reports place their ages in mid-20s to early-30s for one of the women, and around 40 years old for the other.

They are described as between five foot five and five foot eight tall, both with dark hair.

Detective Sergeant Karen Penn, of Dorset Police’s Priority Crime Team, said: “Each of these incidents is subject to a full investigation and we are doing everything we can to identify those involved.

“We are working with other forces who have experienced similar incidents and sharing intelligence as part of our ongoing inquiries.

“We would like to renew our plea for members of the public to remain vigilant, particularly if they are wearing expensive watches or items of jewellery.

“The offenders, who are described in most cases as Eastern European women and speaking in broken English, often pose as people working for a charity.

“We would remind the public that a genuine charity worker should have no issue with showing their identification if required to do so.

“We would continue to urge anyone who has been a victim of an offence of this nature to report it to police.

“We would also like to hear from anyone who has come across expensive watches such as Rolexes being offered for sale in suspicious circumstances.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www. dorset.police.uk, via email 101@dorset. pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55210086480.

Alternatively, to stay 100 per cent anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or call freephone 0800 555 111.