A 63 year old woman had £850 taken from her bank account falling victim to a distraction theft in Waitrose car park in Cirencester.

The woman was loading her shopping into her car at around 1.30pm on Tuesday November 24 and placed her handbag on the front seat.

A man approached her and asked her for directions to a vets and afterwards the woman realised her bank card had been stolen from her bag. Ten minutes later, £850 was withdrawn from the woman’s account.

The incident follows a spate of distraction thefts in the Cotswolds which have seen thieves use a variety of methods to distract shoppers in supermarket car parks and then steal items like handbags, purses and wallets.

Inspector Karen Ellis of Cirencester Police Station said: “When people are asking for help be mindful of your pin and your valuables.”

The man who stole the bank card is described as white, with dark hair, wearing black rimmed glasses and a tan coloured coat and his accent was not believed to be local.

Anyone with information about the Waitrose theft is asked to call 101 quoting incident 271 of November 24.