- CCTV footage shows moment woman became victim of distraction theft
- She was asked for directions to hospital by two women in a blue Ford car
- They then got out of car and began hugging her and talking animatedly
- While the woman was distracted they then stole her necklace and bracelet
This is the shocking moment a Good Samaritan was accosted in the street and became the victim of a distraction burglary by two women who pretended to ask her for directions to a hospital.
The woman was stopped on Portobello Road in Hill Top, West Bromwich, at around 3.15pm on Tuesday March 8 by two women who were travelling in the back of a blue Ford Focus.
The incident was caught on a CCTV camera set up outside a nearby home and shows the woman, wearing a khaki parka coat, giving directions to a smiling woman in a light coloured headscarf who leaned out of the car.
The woman (pictured left) was stopped on Portobello Road in Hill Top, West Bromwich around 3.15pm on Tuesday March 8 by two women in a blue Ford Focus (pictured) who asked her for directions to a local hospital
When the woman began giving the women and two men in the car directions one of them got out of the vehicle
The clip then shows two women get out of the back of the car and begin hugging and fawning over the bemused woman as they animatedly thanked her for her help.
But as they do this they start putting a number of necklaces and bracelets around the confused woman's neck and wrists - and at the same time sneakily unclasp her own necklace and bracelet and pocket them.
The man who filmed the incident then ran outside to intervene but was too late to stop the women stealing the jewellery.
Once they spotted the man emerging from his home the two men still sitting in the car quickly did a U-turn in the road and collected the two women before driving off at speed towards Tame Street.
The footage was sent to MailOnline by Vinny Singh, 26, on behalf of the friend who filmed the incident and watched the drama unfold.
The clip shows women get out of the car and begin hugging and fawning over the bemused woman to thank her
The women began putting necklaces and a bracelet around the confused woman's neck and wrists (pictured)
But as they did this they unclasped the woman's own necklace and bracelet without her knowledge
The woman did not realise her necklace and bracelet had been stolen by the two women until she got home
Mr Singh said: 'He said he had just got home from work when he looked outside his front window because a car pulled up, and he could see it looked like the woman in the back of the car was asking for directions.
'When he glanced again a few seconds later he noticed one of the women from the car put something over the woman's neck and that's what grabbed his attention.
'He realised something dodgy was going on so he ran outside and shouted "oi, what you doing!" which is when they quickly got back in the car and sped off.'
Mr Singh said initially the woman did not realise anything had been stolen as her keys were still in her pocket. But she belatedly realised her necklace and bracelet were missing when she got home.
An unnamed man (left) ran outside to intervene but was too late to stop the women stealing the jewellery
Detectives are appealing for anyone who recognises the two women wearing headscarfs to contact them
West Midlands police said today that the woman had fallen prey to an emerging trend where victims are distracted and confused by a couple of offenders who use a number of excuses to engage them in conversation.
Detectives are now appealing for anyone who recognises the women to contact them.
One woman wore a long dark coat with a white or cream coloured scarf draped over her dark hair, while the other woman also wore a dark coat with a hot pink scarf covering her hair.
Police Constable Hannah Meredith from Sandwell Police said: 'These people are very cunning in the way they operate and we would urge people to be wary about anyone who is overfriendly in these type of circumstances.
'They use sleight of hand and will check pockets without the victim knowing.
'The car, although not uncommon, does have hubcaps missing which makes it slightly distinctive but unfortunately does not have a registered keeper, so I would ask anyone with information on the car to contact us.
The registration number displayed was W595 NUY.'
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