Two women who 'preyed on elderly' are sentenced for Daventry distraction thefts

Florica Stan, 25, and Tabita Mihai, 19, both from Ermington Crescent, Birmingham, targetted a number of victims across the Midlands and were eventually arrested in Birmingham.

Over the 2017 Christmas period, they masqueraded as charity collectors in Daventry town centre and stole from a number of people.

Daventry Neighbourhood Sergeant, Sam Dobbs, said: “These offences rightly and understandably provoked angry responses from our community given the targeting of elderly, vulnerable victims and preying on their goodwill over the Christmas period.

“However, CCTV cameras have long memories and neighbourhood officers were able to view hours of footage to find the suspects and share their images, which ultimately led to their arrest and charge.

“It’s completely unacceptable to think making money in this way is tolerable and we will always pursue the offenders of this kind of crime in order to bring them to justice.”

The first report came on December 27 when an 83-year-old woman was targeted in Bowen Square by the two women, who took £100 from her purse.

Three further offences then took place on January 5 when a 78-year-old woman, an 85-year-old man and an 84-year-old-man had cash stolen from them in distraction thefts.

Images of the two women were captured on CCTV and their images published on social media before they were arrested in Birmingham for a number of offences across the Midlands.

They both appeared before Worcester Crown Court on April 5, where they pleaded guilty to a string of distraction thefts. Stan was jailed for 16 months and Mihai for 12 months.