AN ELDERLY couple were preyed upon by two callous thieves who followed them home from a shopping trip before stealing their credit cards and withdrawing cash.
The victims, aged in their 80s and from Tarporley, were followed in a car for 10 miles from Morrisons supermarket in Winsford before being targeted on their doorstep.
The theft happened at around 1.15pm on Thursday shortly after the couple arrived back at their home, off Forest Road.
Detectives believe the two offenders, who spoke with Eastern European accents and were smartly dressed, identified the couple in the supermarket and then watched them as they paid at the chip and pin machine.
The pair, believed to be driving a Rover vehicle, later approached the couple outside their home and distracted them by asking for change of a £2 coin, as well as directions to Manchester.
During the conversation they stole two credit cards from the couple, one of which was used to withdraw a three-figure sum from a cash machine at NatWest bank in High Street.
They failed to steal cash from the other card as it had a different pin code to the one used by the victims in the supermarket.
Inspector Phil Hodgson said: It would appear that the offenders had planned their crime meticulously and used distraction type techniques.
It is callous and cruel to target elderly victims in this way, and we urge the public to be on their guard when out shopping.
We are doing all we can to trace those responsible and ensure nobody else falls prey to this unusual type of crime.
Det Sgt Rupert Morrey, who is overseeing the investigation, added: We are now examining the CCTV from the cashpoint and examining transaction attempts at other locations.
Anyone with information about the theft should contact Cheshire Police on 0845 458 0000, quoting incident number 715 of June 23.
