'Rolex Rippers' now stealing wallets and purses in Dorset

The female criminals have spent the past 18 months posing as charity workers to lure victims in before removing their Rolex watches without them noticing.

But they are now believed to be using the same trick to target both men and women in posh market towns in order to steal their wallets, purses and jewellery.

A spate of alarmingly similar incidents have been reported outside banks, supermarkets and on high streets across Dorset and Hampshire over the past two months.

BNPS (Image: BNPS)

The pair of women, one younger and than the other, typically approach their vulnerable targets with clipboards claiming to work for a deaf charity.

In one incident in Wareham, on September 7, the duo approached a woman aged in her 70s.

They asked for a donation for their 'charity' before taking £1,000 from her handbag she had just withdrawn from a bank.

On the same day, in Bransgore, it is thought Michael Smith, 77, and his wife, Enid, 76, were approached by the same two women in a Marks and Spencer car park.

The elderly couple had to fight off the pair as one of them thrust their clipboard at Mr Smith, shoving him against his car door.

The incident follows a near-identical incident in Wareham in August in which a woman in her 50s was hugged by a female 'charity worker' who surreptitiously removed her necklace.

BNPS (Image: BNPS)

In an incident on Wednesday, two female 'charity workers' stopped a woman in Ringwood High Street and took a 'donation' from her which they immediately handed over to a male accomplice stood nearby.

Minutes later Karen Whitcher attempted to apprehend the same pair after she spotted one of them slip her hand into an elderly man's coat pocket.

She photographed them before they attacked her and made a 'swift exit' as they attempted to cover their faces with their coat hoods.

• Police searching for owner of stolen Rolex watch

Saimir Gjoka, 37, witnessed the theft.

He said: "The two ladies were opposite the road from one another.

"I saw the younger woman approach an old lady and hang around her neck. She took the money and put it in her pocket. It all happened so quickly.

"I thought, 'this isn't right'. It's dodgy to stop a vulnerable person and ask for money.

"She met up with the older lady and a guy in his 60s wearing a cap. He collected the money off them."

Up until now the Rolex Rippers have been linked to more than 30 distraction thefts in counties including Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, Surrey, Gloucestershire and Cheshire over the past 18 months.

In most cases the victims of the Rolex Rippers have been men of a certain age wearing designer watches on their exposed wrists.

Yet despite multiple police forces hunting the gang, only one woman has so far been caught.

Stefania Tinica (Image: Dorset Police)

In July this year, Stefania Tinica, a Romanian national, was jailed for a theft at a golf club in Cheshire last year.

Locals have connected the recent crimes, warning that the organised crime gang made up of mostly Eastern European women might have changed their tactics.

Sara Magern said: "This is incredibly similar to the watch thefts that happened last year. It was two women then, as well.

"It seems the same people might have just found a new tactic".

• Who are the 'Rolex Rippers' - Everything we know about watch thefts in Dorset

Police have released new images of one of the women following yet another attempted theft outside a bank in Shaftesbury, on Thursday.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: "Local officers are keen to speak to this lady. She is working with a younger female targeting elderly persons and involved in distraction theft after asking for bogus charity donations.

"Please be aware they visit market towns when they are busy and will hover around banks. If seen please call 999."

Responding to the incident on Ringwood High Street on October 5, a spokesman for Hampshire Police said: "We received a report of an assault in relation to an incident on Ringwood High Street on October 5 at around 12.30pm.

"It is alleged that two women were approaching members of the public purporting to be collecting money for charity.

"A member of the public challenged the two women after allegedly witnessing them making attempts to pickpocket individuals on the High Street.

"During the altercation a woman in her 40s was assaulted and suffered minor injuries to her arm."

Dorset Police initially released images of two women over the Wareham theft on September 7.

At the time PC Max Vallance, of Purbeck police said: "We are carrying out enquiries and have obtained images of two women we would like to identify.

"I would ask anyone who recognises them, or has any information that might assist our investigation, to please come forward.

"Also, I would like to urge people to remain vigilant if they are approached in similar circumstances, particularly if they are carrying large sums of cash."