POLICE in Ardrossan are on the hunt for a thief who robbed a 75-year-old woman - just a day before another attack in Saltcoats.

About 12.30pm last Wednesday, the woman was crossing South Beach Road, Ardrossan near to the railway station when she was approached by a man who snatched her handbag from her and ran off in the direction of Barrie Terrace.

The suspect is described as a white man who is around 5ft 10 in height, of slim build and had short dark hair. At the time of this incident he was wearing a light blue jacket, dark brown trousers, dark coloured shoes, a black scarf and black gloves.

Detective Constable Jennifer Carruth, of North Ayrshire CID, is leading the enquiry and commented: “This was a very traumatic experience for the woman who was left badly shaken by the experience.

“We are continuing enquiries in the area including door to door enquiries and reviewing all available CCTV.

“It is vital that we trace the person responsible and as such I would ask that anyone who may have witnessed the incident or who was in the vicinity of South Beach railway station and may have seen the man hanging around before the incident or running from the scene afterwards to please contact us.”

Anyone with information that may assist police enquiries is encouraged to call Police Scotland on 101 - quoting incident number 1430 of 14 March 2018.

This robbery occurred just a day before a 74-year-old woman was robbed and left with bad bruising after an incident in Springvale Place in Saltcoats.