A NINETY-YEAR-OLD woman had a bag stolen from her car boot at a Rubery beauty spot.

The woman parked her blue Chevrolet Matiz at Waseley Hills Country Park at 11.45am last Wednesday and put her handbag in the boot before taking her dog for a walk around the park.

When she returned to her car, around 30 minutes later, she put the dog inside the car.

She unlocked the boot from the inside ready to get her bag back out and was then approached by a man who told her she had a flat tyre. He offered to blow her tyre up for her with his electric pump and asked her to sit in the car with her foot on the brake while he did so. Once the man had finished pumping up the tyre, the woman went to fetch her handbag from the boot, but discovered it was missing.

The man is described as white, in his mid 60s and he had an Irish accent. He was wearing black rimmed glasses, a brown and green cloth cap, a green short sleeved shirt and a brown waistcoat.

PC Mark Churchill, from Rubery police, said: "It may be that this man was involved in the theft of the bag or he may be an important witness. We would appeal for him or anyone who can help identify him from this description to come forward. We would also like to hear from anyone who witnessed the tyre being pumped up or the bag being taken from the boot."

He added: "We would also encourage anyone using a car park to be vigilant, whether it's at a local park, at a tourist attraction or in a shopping centre. Remember to take your belongings with you or to store them out of sight, but to avoid moving them to the boot as you park up in case anyone is watching."

Anyone with information relating to this incident should call Rubery police on 08457 444 888 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.