Thief hugs victim to distract him

A thief thought to be posing as a charity worker stole money from an elderly man while hugging him as a distraction tactic, police have said.

The 88-year-old victim parked his car in a Waitrose car park in Saffron Walden, Essex, when a woman tapped on his window.

When the man wound down his window, the woman placed a clipboard on his steering wheel, and drew on it.

Believing she was asking for a donation on behalf of a charity, the man gave her a £5 note. The woman then hugged him for around one minute, which police say the victim found “odd”.

A f t e r d o i n g a supermarket shop, the man realised a three-figure sum of money was missing from his pocket.

Police are looking for a white woman with black, shoulder-length hair who was seen carrying a blue clipboard between 2.30pm and 3pm on November 5.