Eastern European criminal gangs are bumping into elderly Black Country shoppers on pension day and secretly plucking their purses from handbags.

Women are distracting victims while another thief dips into the bag and swipes the purse. Officers say men who are “supervising” the crimewave stand by to intervene in case any resistance is put up.

There have been more than 20 purse dippings in Wolverhampton and Walsall alone in the last month.

In Wolverhampton, there were 10 thefts between April 21 and May 20.

They included victims who were targeted near shops, including Argos at Bentley Bridge, River Island in Dudley Street and Walsall Hospice on Church Street Bilston.

There were 12 thefts during the same period in Walsall.

Two took place near the town centre bus station in St Paul’s Street and another two happened in busy Bridge Street.