An elderly woman suffered a heart attack shortly after a pair of “callous” thieves robbed her of her purse in a post office.
Leicestershire Police said the 86-year-old woman had her purse taken from her handbag in the post office in Castle Donington on September 1.
Shortly after the incident, the woman fell ill and suffered a heart attack, and had to spend a week in hospital.
The police have released CCTV footage in an effort to track down the thieves who stole her purse.
In the video, a man and a woman can be seen hovering around the pensioner, before the pensioner grabs the purse and the couple make their way out of the post office.
Police said the victim alerted a member of staff who attempted to apprehend the suspects but they managed to escape. It is believed they fled in a vehicle which was driven by a third person.
The victim felt unwell and suffered a heart attack shortly after the incident, police said. She is recovering well at home after spending a week in hospital.
Detective Constable Michael Steer, the investigating officer, said: “The victim has been through so much after suffering a heart attack and we’re pleased she is on the road to recovery.
“Our enquiries into the incident have been ongoing since it was reported and earlier this month we issued CCTV images of two people we wanted to identify in connection with this incident.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any significant leads and have now released CCTV footage of the incident in the hope it will help identify those responsible.
Police want to identify the couple from the CCTV footage (Picture: Leicestershire Police)
“The footage is of good quality and we’d ask the public to take a look and contact us if they recognise the people in the footage or have any suspicions about who they may be.
“We believe they may have links to the West Midlands area and would ask that people share this appeal far and wide.”
A 23-year-old man from Birmingham was arrested in connection with the incident, but has since been released under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact DC 1917 Michael Steer on 101, quoting crime reference number 18*417277.