Pooka
03-19-07, 04:28 PM
Police are hunting a gang of thieves as young as four who stole a purse from a 79-year-old woman in north Devon.
Two boys aged seven to eight, and a girl aged four to five, told the woman they were collecting for charity.
They entered her house in Victoria Street, Barnstaple, and played with her dog before running off with her purse containing cash and cards.
The victim, who did not want to be named, said that she was now unable to trust anyone.
She told BBC News: "I gave them 50p just to give them the benefit of the doubt and off they went.
"It wasn't until later that I noticed my purse was gone.
"I was not going to report it to the police, but then I thought it might happen to someone else."
She added: "I can't trust anyone now. I'm very unnerved.
"I thought they were so young there isn't much they can do."
Police have appealed for witnesses to the incident, which happened between 1500 and 1600 GMT on Monday 12 March.
Pc Tom Hutton of Barnstaple Police said: "This is a truly shocking theft by such a young group of people.
"The victim is extremely distressed and we are confident that someone in the community will know who is behind this."
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6465537.stm)
Two boys aged seven to eight, and a girl aged four to five, told the woman they were collecting for charity.
They entered her house in Victoria Street, Barnstaple, and played with her dog before running off with her purse containing cash and cards.
The victim, who did not want to be named, said that she was now unable to trust anyone.
She told BBC News: "I gave them 50p just to give them the benefit of the doubt and off they went.
"It wasn't until later that I noticed my purse was gone.
"I was not going to report it to the police, but then I thought it might happen to someone else."
She added: "I can't trust anyone now. I'm very unnerved.
"I thought they were so young there isn't much they can do."
Police have appealed for witnesses to the incident, which happened between 1500 and 1600 GMT on Monday 12 March.
Pc Tom Hutton of Barnstaple Police said: "This is a truly shocking theft by such a young group of people.
"The victim is extremely distressed and we are confident that someone in the community will know who is behind this."
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6465537.stm)