Art club sketches thief

ART club members were quick on the draw after a thief struck at a painting class.

Art teacher Jane Dwight painted a watercolour portrait of the brazen crook who stole a handbag belonging to a student at the Telscombe Civic Centre.

The amateur art class was enjoying its regular Thursday evening lesson when a smartly dressed young man arrived and claimed he wanted to join. He was told it was the last evening of the current series but he was welcome to look around and talk to members.

Before he struck he boldly chatted to the class including his victim Lenie Hinton, 61, of Springfield Avenue, Telscombe Cliffs. She said: 'He told the tutor he was interested in the class as his grandmother had been on it. He came over to me and we talked. Then I told him I had to go and clean my brushes. When I came back he had disappeared and I did not think anything more of it.'

It was then she noticed her handbag had been taken, containing her driving licence and house and car keys. She phoned the police immediately and the class recalled what the man looked like while the art teacher set to work with her paints.

Mrs Hinton made her way home on foot and was met by her husband who had discovered their house in disarray. In the short time between snatching the bag and Mrs Hinton arriving home the thief had burgled the house stealing jewellery worth 4,000 and cash. Electric locks on her car also had to be changed at a cost of 900.

Mrs Hinton, who is originally from the Netherlands, said she hoped the painting would help police trace the man before he struck again. She added: 'We wanted to do something because we couldn't believe it. We were all taken in by this man.'

The thief is described as white, 5ft 8in tall, with short dark hair, clean shaven, with a broad nose. He was wearing a distinctive pink shirt under a black raincoat.

Readers with any information about the man or who saw him between 8pm and 9pm on Thursday last week can call police on 0845 6070999, quoting serial 1653/21.3.02.