POLICE are appealing for public assistance after two elderly women had their handbags snatched over two days in the Kempsey area.
About 6.10pm on Friday, a 77-year-old woman parked a vehicle in her garage on Bloomfield Street, South Kempsey, and began walking towards the rear door of her house while holding her handbag.
Police have been told that as she walked towards the door she was grabbed from behind and swung around by a man, who pushed her into a railing, which knocked her off balance.
The man then grabbed her handbag and fled the scene.
The woman notified emergency services and was treated by paramedics for soreness to the stomach area as a result of being pushed into the railing.
The 77-year-old has described the man as being about 178cm tall, with a thin build, wearing a grey hooded jacket and dark coloured long pants.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, about 8.15pm Saturday an 84-year-old woman was waiting for a relative outside of her home in Warwick Street, West Kempsey, with an overnight bag containing her belongings.
The woman, who has limited vision, heard a man ask for her purse and began swinging her overnight bag in his direction.
She believes she struck the man a number of times with the bag, before he grabbed it and ran off. The woman was not injured in the incident.
Police from Mid North Coast Local Area Command are investigating both incidents and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward by calling Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
