Gangs of professional thieves are targeting Clacton.

Gangs of professional thieves are targeting Clacton. Police in the town are dealing with a spate of purse thefts and bag snatches. Officers are liaising closely with their counterparts in Colchester, Ipswich, Chelmsford and Southend after a number of separate groups were spotted. Clacton PCSO Lauren Richardson said Christmas was a prime time for purse thieves. She said: “Mainly it is eastern European women who work together in twos or threes. “We believe there are some locals that are doing it as well, because we have had some descriptions of English-looking people.”