ELDERLY shoppers in Neath town centre have been targeted by a team of pickpockets.
The criminal enterprise was compared by a traders' leader to Fagin's thieves in the film Oliver.
Police have since confirmed that arrests have been made in connection with a series of distraction thefts.
President of Neath Chamber of Trade, Keith Harding, said he had received a report of thefts being carried out by a male and a female in Neath Town Centre.
"It was like Fagin's lot had descended into Neath," he said.
"She would engage them in conversation and the lad would take the purse."
Mr Harding said there were three reports of this type of theft happening in just one day.
"They were targeting the elderly who could not pursue them," he said.
Mr Harding added that people should be extra vigilant and that he wanted to make traders aware of the situation.
"Let's hope it was an isolated incident," he said.
One woman whose elderly mother had been targeted around three weeks ago while shopping in Neath, but who asked not to be named, said: "My mum was in Wilkinson's looking for bird seed when this woman came up to her."
Disappeared
She said her mum could feel something behind her and then noticed her purse had been taken.
"The male ran away and this woman disappeared," she said.
She added that police were alerted and information about the theft was also passed onto other stores in Neath.
The concerned daughter said she had also now advised her mum to get a bag with a zip to make her belongings more secure.
A police spokesman confirmed that three people — one woman and two males — have been arrested in connection with distraction thefts in stores across Neath, Port Talbot and Bridgend.
"They are currently on police bail," he said.
emma.denholm@swwmedia.co.uk
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