A HUNT End resident is warning neighbours across the town to be on their guard against a potential jewellery scam.
The resident’s mother was flagged down by the driver of a black BMW on Saturday (November 14) in the bus stop between Hunt End Lane and Damson Close, on Windmill Drive, between the hours of 1.15pm and 2.50pm.
The driver, an Asian man in his forties, approached the woman, who was in her own vehicle, and proceeded to display gold rings, which he said were his wedding rings, and a Samsung mobile phone on her passenger seat.
He told the victim that his wife was sick and they needed help to get to London.
Although he did not directly ask for money, the driver said he had run out of petrol and that the rings and the mobile phone would be given in exchange for help.
The woman said that although he was polite throughout the conversation something did not ‘sit right with her’ so she shut the car door and gave him the jewellery and mobile phone back before driving off.
Following a report of the incident being posted on the social media site Redditch Spotted, a further woman has come forward to say she experienced a similar situation a few weeks earlier with a man who fits the description of the driver.
However, on this day there was a second person in the vehicle but she was given the same spiel about a sick wife.
Inspector Darren Webster advises residents across the town to be vigilant.
He said: “If a sale seems too good to be true, very often it is. I would remind residents to be vigilant in suspicious circumstances and to be cautious of anyone who is trying to sell products from their vehicle.
“I would also urge residents who were thinking of buying gold or jewellery to only do so from recognised and reputable shops.”
