A VULNERABLE man in Shaftesbury was allegedly taken advantage of as he was convinced to hand over £250 to a stranger to help fund non-existent car repairs.
At around 5pm on July 3, a man approached a vulnerable man in the car park of the Tesco store in Christy’s Lane and asked to borrow cash to cover vehicle repairs for the victim’s car.
The victim was confused and went with the man to the cash machine at the store. He withdrew £250 and gave it to the man.
The victim subsequently made enquiries with his garage and it was confirmed that no cash was owed and the man involved was not connected to the garage.
Police have since issued an image of a man they want to identify in connection with the incident.
Police Community Support Investigator Lindy Wilson, of Dorset Police, said: “This incident involved the targeting and deception of a vulnerable individual and we are carrying out enquiries to identify the man involved.
“I am now in a position to issue a CCTV image of a man we would like to identify as part of our investigation and I would urge anyone who recognises him to please contact us.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55240102371.
Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.
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