AN 82-YEAR-OLD woman had her handbag stolen from the back of her car as she stopped at a junction.

The pensioner had been shopping with her husband in Bishop Auckland town centre at about 3.15pm on Thursday when the incident happened.

They had paused at a junction near to where they had been parked in the Market Place when a youth opened the back door of their blue/green V-reg Rover 600, grabbed the bag, which contained two rings and cash, and ran off.

The victim sounded her car horn to gain attention as the thief ran towards Fore Bondgate.

The thief is described as about 5ft 8ins tall and of slim build. He was wearing a woollen hat and dark coloured clothing.

The rings are described as two platinum diamond solitaires, one of which has a five-carat diamond.

Detective Constable Yvonne Dutson, of Durham Police, said that in addition to an amount of cash the bag contained five diamond rings of sentimental value to the victim. She added: "This incident has caused the victim and her husband a great deal of distress. As well as being very valuable the rings are irreplaceable as far as the victim is concerned and I would urge anyone with information regarding their whereabouts to contact police.

"The area was busy at the time and some workmen helped the victim contact the police. I would urge anyone who saw what happened or has any information about the person responsible or the whereabouts of the stolen items to contact us."

Witnesses are asked to call 0345-6060-365 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.