Thieves steal cash which was meant for a funeral

9:43am Wednesday 14th May 2008

A DISABLED Spa pensioner had £4,000 taken from her bank account after a callous couple stole her cash card when she was out shopping in the town.

Eighty-two-year-old Vera Binstead, who was a victim of last year's Droitwich floods, successfully made an insurance claim after her home was hit following the down-pour.

“I want to meet them when we’ve caught them so that I can ask them how they sleep at night after they’ve done this to someone.”

Spa pensioner Vera Binstead

She left the cash in a current account to pay for her own funeral.

However, a heartless couple had other ideas when, on April 4, they distracted Vera on her mobility scooter during a shopping trip, stole her bank card and then used it 19 times to draw out more than £4,000 in just two days.

With his female accomplice nearby, the man first obtained Mrs Binstead's PIN number by looking over her shoulder while she used a hole-in-the-wall cash dispenser at Lloyds TSB in Victoria Square.

He then stole her bank card after distracting Vera by asking for change.

Mrs Binstead was not aware of what had happened until April 8, after returning from a weekend in Skegness, by which time her bank account, including the flood insurance, had been emptied.

A substantial amount was taken on the day of the theft at various retail outlets in Cheltenham and Gloucester.

Mrs Binstead's card was also used some 30 miles away at four stores in Wolverhampton and at two more in West Bromwich.

But the calculating couple had not bargained for the clarity of CCTV pictures at TK Maxx in Cheltenham where the offenders spent more than £300 of Vera's money.

The images have now been released by officers who are confident someone will recognise them and contact the police.

Mrs Binstead said: "We've got to catch these people. Where are they now? They could be in Scotland, or anywhere else in the country, doing the same thing to someone else.

"I want to meet them when we've caught them so that I can ask them how they sleep at night after they've done this to someone."

Mrs Binstead said that it was highly unusual for her to have a large amount of cash in the account and it was only there because she was about to make her funeral arrangements "so that my daughter won't have anything to worry about when I'm gone."

She added: "I don't know where the man came from. I am always careful when using my card to obtain cash and look round to see if anyone is close to me."

Inspector Steve Brooker, head of policing in the Droitwich area, said: "This offence is particularly nasty bearing in mind the vulnerability - particularly through poor mobility - of the 82-year-old victim.

"This cruel deception and theft clearly demonstrates the cool and calculated cunning of those criminals who target the elderly and physically vulnerable."

The good news for Mrs Binstead is that Lloyds TSB has agreed to fully refund her account and are also undertaking an investigation alongside South Worcestershire police.

Mrs Binstead described the couple as continental, while police believe that they are of Eastern European descent and from the West Midlands, possibly the Black Country area.

Anyone who can assist the investigation should call police on 08457 444888, quoting 210S-080508 and asking for PC Kate Anderson. Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 07800 555111.

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