Police are hunting a bogus carer who stole an elderly woman’s handbag in Gateshead.
At around 9.30am on Monday, April 11, a woman went into a home on Friarside Crescent in Rowlands Gill and told the elderly woman inside she was from a care provider and proceeded to steal a handbag and chequebook. Northumbria Police have now launched an investigation and have appealed for help from the public to locate the suspect.
In their investigations so far, officers have found that the victim, aged 90, let the woman inside the house and spoke to her in the living room for around 30 minutes, before she left her alone and went into the kitchen. However, when she returned, the woman had already left and the victim later discovered her handbag and chequebook were missing.
The victim then reported the incident to police who established that the care provider had not sent anyone. A spokesman for Northumbria Police said that the investigation is under way.
Officers have issued a description of the bogus carer and have asked anybody who can assist with their investigation come forward.
He said: "The incident is being treated as theft and enquiries are ongoing. Officers have today (Thursday) issued an appeal asking for anyone who might have had a similar experience, or thinks they have seen a woman matching the following description in the area to get in touch.
"The carer is described as female, around 5ft 6in with a stocky/muscular build and in her mid 30s with a local accent. She had brown hair with blonde streaks which was tied back and she was wearing a blue/grey carers apron with a name tag on the right hand side."
Anyone with information should contact police using the Tell us Something page on their website, quoting crime reference number 042551X/22.
