A SHOCKING video sees a gang of men using brazen tactics to rob an elderly woman on the street in broad daylight.
The incident was caught on camera last Friday in Leicester, East Midlands and sees the woman making her way up the street with a plastic bag.
She is then approached by a man who appears to be trying to help her – but his true intentions are soon revealed as one of his accomplices approaches and robs items straight out of the distracted OAP’s bag.
The full video shows the woman ambling down a street whilst a group of men can be seen walking the same way on the other side of the road.
One of the men breaks away from the group and crosses the road, approaching the woman as a man watching the footage comments: “There he is.”
The man in the video then appears to strike up a conversation with the woman, whilst offering her an illegible piece of paper.
The woman then seemingly turns to use a cash machine but as she does this, the man appears to drop change on the ground whilst simultaneously tapping her on the back, lying that she has dropped the money.
As she bends down to pick the coins up, several of the man’s accomplices begin crossing the road, lingering around as they watch their pal pull off the scheme.
The woman gathers the change and returns to the cash machine but incredibly, the original man tosses more coins on the ground and taps her on the shoulder once again.
He continues to act as though she has dropped the change and she bends back over to pick it up again.
This time, whilst the OAP is distracted, a second man approaches and appears to cut a hole in the bag she is carrying and managing to remove her possessions.
Both men then swiftly make their escape whilst the poor woman is left still picking up change.
The disturbing post was shared to social media yesterday with the caption: “Elderly woman targeted by gang in Leicester and robbed her of her savings she just withdrew from bank.”
The post received over 200 likes with dozens of comments from social media users who were left stunned at the actions of the brazen thieves.
One user said: “When I see older people I can’t think of anything else than to show love.”
Another added: “Imagine this happening to your Nan/grandma: I’m finding you trust me.”
A third replied: “Is that about four peeps involved? My old mum got stung by Roma gang in a charity shop years ago in a similar way.”
Another commented: “This is so scummy and sad. Hope they get caught.”
Speaking today a Leicestershire police spokesperson said: “An investigation is continuing following a report of theft in East Leicester.
“Shortly before 1pm last Friday (16 February) a report was received stating a quantity of cash had been taken from a bag being carried by woman in her 70s in Brandon Street.
“The woman was not injured. No arrests have been made and anyone with information about the incident is asked to visit https://www.leics.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ and quote reference 24*96979. Alternatively call 101.”
