Appeal for information following robberies and attempted robbery in Liverpool

We are appealing for information following a number of robberies and attempted robberies in which women had their bags snatched in Liverpool.

At around 4pm on Thursday 19th December 2019 a 71 year-old woman had her handbag snatched by an unknown male in the car park of the Tesco supermarket on Mather Avenue in Allerton (CCTV image below).

The man was followed by a male member of staff. The robber punched the male before running off along Rose Lane.

At 4.30pm on the same day a 76 year-old woman was waiting at a bus stop at the junction of Woolton Road/Lance Lane in Wavertree when she was approached by man who grabbed her bag, causing her to fall to the floor.  The woman was dragged along the ground during the incident, causing grazing to her legs. (Main image)

At 5.15pm on the same day a 57 year-old woman was getting on a bus, close to the Sainsbury’s store on East Prescot Road in Knotty Ash, when a male grabbed her from behind and snatched her bag. The woman fell to the floor and banged her head but she managed to keep hold of the bag and the man escaped empty-handed. He is believed to have run off along Rudyard Road, towards Thomas Lane and Brookside Avenue.

In each of the cases the offender is described as a white male, of large or stocky build and wearing dark clothing and a navy blue rain coat/padded jacket.

Detectives investigating believe the same male is responsible for all the incidents and an investigation has been ongoing.

We have released a CCTV image of the incident on the car park at Tesco on Mather Avenue and moving footage of the man running away (video link below) following the attempted robbery on East Prescot Road and also the injuries caused to the elderly victim of the Woolton Road robbery.

Detective Inspector Sean Kelly-Martland said: "These are particularly nasty and cowardly attacks on ladies who were simply going about their day-to-day business. It is only by sheer good fortune that none of them were seriously hurt, although all were obviously left shaken by their ordeal.

"We are determined to catch the man responsible for these robberies and bring him to justice and I would appeal to members of the public to help us.

 "Maybe you were driving past one of these locations on the afternoon of 19th December and you witnessed something or you saw someone fitting the description of the man running away.

"Unfortunately the CCTV footage is not as clear as we would like it to be but we believe that seeing the man may jog someone’s memory.

"It’s important that this man is taken off the streets and brought to justice."

Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC, call 101 or contact @CrimestoppersUK anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 19100741931.