YOU'D have a hard heart or no visible signs of intelligence if you weren't sickened by the theft of a wallet from a Parkinson's disease sufferer at Worcester's CrownGate bus station.

It's one thing to be mugged by an opportunist thief who strikes and runs away in a matter of seconds. That's traumatic enough.

But it's quite another to be the victim of thieves like the ones who pickpocketed the 71-year-old, playing on human nature and using his instinct for being sociable against him.

The damage here isn't just the £70 and personal effects which went missing with his wallet. It's the fact that he may never be able to trust anyone again.

"Despicable" is the word used by Sgt Bob Werner-DeSondberg to describe the two men who did this. "Scum" would be another.

The community at large will recognise these thieves for what they are, we're sure.

We've said it before on numerous occasions, and we'll say it again today.

Tiny minds which are capable of such a callous act are normally attached to a big mouth which can't resist letting the tiniest boast slip.

When it happens, we hope the listener considers how they'd feel if it were a friend or family member of their own who'd been attacked.

The information then arriving quickly in the hands of West Mercia police will restore some of our faith in human nature and the power of the community.