Elderly Cotswold man targeted by 'Rolex Rippers' gang

The group of women have made headlines recently after being suspected of nicking a series of watches from Dorset - targeting wealthy men at golf clubs.

They pretend to be collecting for charity before slipping price timepieces off the gentlemen's wrists.

But they have now struck further north in the Cotswolds - stealing a Rolex from retired pilot Michael Parry, 84.

He says he was asked to sign a petition by a woman - who then shouted the word "sex" repeatedly to distract him.

Mr Parry later realised his watch had gone missing in a daylight robbery in the middle of Bourton-on-the-Water.

Michael had been putting his shopping on the passenger seat of his electric Mini in the Co-op car park when a woman approached.

He started to drive home and realised the GMT-Master Rolex he bought five years ago for £6,500 was missing. Today it is worth more than £15,000.

The car was caught on CCTV by the store manager at Co-op, and was identified as a Citroen C4, which Gloucestershire police believe was being driven by an accomplice.

The car number plates turned out to be fake, but ut Michael was able to remember that the woman who attacked him was wearing trousers, trainers, a baseball cap and a surgical mask.

She was around 5ft 5in with mousey hair tied back.

Previous reports have suggested that the pair are eastern European in origin.

Gloucestershire Police have confirmed they were called to a report of a robbery at a supermarket car park in Bourton-On-The-Water at around 11.20am on Thursday, July 8, after a man told them a woman carrying a clipboard had asked him to sign a petition.

"Following the report police attended, searched the area and conducted house to house enquires as well as CCTV enquiries, said a statement.

Any information can be passed to Gloucestershire Constabulary using the following form quoting incident 187 of July 8.

Alternatively, 101 can be contacted quoting the same incident.