A 68-year-old woman who works as a dinner lady is “scared to leave the house” after thousands of pounds in cash, her bank cards, passport, and documents with her address were all stolen in Camberwell.
Her son, Alex, believes she was followed from a bank in Brixton to a shop in Camberwell, where the theft happened. He described his mother as 4’11” and limping due to arthritis in her knee. He told MyLondon that she is so frightened the thieves will find her that she doesn’t want to be named or pictured.
On Saturday, February 5, she had taken out thousands of pounds in cash from Nationwide in Brixton as she is building a home in Ghana, where she is from, and a relative had agreed to take the money back for her. Alex told MyLondon that his mother has done this “many many many times over decades” and found it the “most secure” way to get the money home as the money doesn’t always go through on a transfer.
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(Image: Alex)
Alex, a 35-year-old who works in pharmacies, said his mother is conscious that people could target her, and usually is taken to a side room to be handed the cash and then hides the items in an “unattractive” way in her trolley. This time, she was handed the cash over the counter and then took herself to the side to hide the items away.
She then left the bank and took the bus to Camberwell. At around 12pm while she was in Amin News, she got “jostled” in a corner and “felt something was going on”. She checked her bag and noticed her cash, bank cards, passport, and documents with her address on them were all missing. She asked the person she thought was responsible to empty his pockets but he had nothing in them.
She called Alex, sounding panicky and saying “I’m in trouble”. They called the police and a shop keeper showed her CCTV footage. In the footage, Alex says you can see a man and a woman (pictured) come in after his mother. The man then “performed a distraction and went into her bag and handed the items to the woman”. Alex believes his mother was watched at the bank and followed as there were other things in her trolley and the thief went underneath everything to find the items. His mother also remembers seeing the woman in the CCTV on the bus.
“It wasn’t random,” Alex said. “They knew exactly what to go for and where.”
Alex lives in Croydon, but is currently staying with his mother in Southwark as her husband is in hospital and she is “scared to go out by herself”.
“She’s scared about noises,” explained Alex. “She’s worried they will come as they have her address and try to get into the flat. I have been walking her to work. She wants to try to get some independence but yesterday she was scared to be out picking up medication. She’s worried she’d be watched. She keeps asking ‘you don’t think they’re going to come for me?’ It’s really affected her.”
“Its just wrong, completely wrong,” he added, holding back tears. “Just because you are old or small or vulnerable. It’s disgusting, absolutely disgusting.”
He continued: “I’m really angry but trying to be strong for my mum. I’m trying to be a source of support. Especially with dad in hospital, she’s already worried about that. But as soon as I’m thinking about how she feels it gets me every single time.”
Alex is thankful his mother wasn’t physically hurt, but she has worked hard all her life to get that money and he says “you can see it hurts”. The police say no arrests have yet been made and enquiries continue.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “Police were called at 12.20pm on Sunday, February 5 to reports of a theft at a commercial premises in Camberwell Road, SE5. A customer reported having her passport, bank cards and cash stolen from out of her handbag by an unknown man and woman. No arrests have been made. Enquiries continue.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting CAD 3236/05FEB. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org .
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