Police are appealing for information following a robbery which took place in West Lothian on Saturday afternoon.
Around 5:30pm, a 76 year old woman was walking on High Academy Street, Armadale, West Lothian when a man approached her and grabbed her handbag. He grabbed it with such force that the strap snapped, causing the woman to fall to the ground. The lady suffered minor injuries, however the incident has left her badly shaken and a number of personal items were within her bag when it was stolen. A member of the public stopped to assist the lady and the crime was reported to police.
The suspect ran off back along High Academy Street, taking the handbag and its contents with him.
He is white, around 6 ft. tall, with a pale complexion. He’s aged late teens to early 20s, with a slim build. He has dark coloured eyes. He was wearing a black Puffa style jacket with a white hooded top underneath and black trousers.
Officers are analysing CCTV for further information on the suspect. They are also appealing for anyone with private CCTV footage and dash cam footage to get in touch.
Detective Constable Tony Gilhooley said: “This is a despicable and cowardly crime, targeting an elderly lady in the street. I am appealing to anyone who was in the area of High Academy Street around the time of the incident to contact us. It’s possible you noticed the man running along the street and thought nothing of it at the time or saw him walking in the street prior to the incident. If you have any information which could assist our inquiries, please do contact us.”
Anyone with information is asked call CID officers at Livingston Police Station via 101, quoting incident number 3149 of 9 November 2019. Alternatively, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be given anonymously.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
