‘Rolex Ripper’ may be Albanian woman – as 77-year-old man becomes latest victim
Police are investigating a fresh “Rolex Ripper” theft, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal, as it has emerged that the women behind the attacks could be Albanian, according to victims.
Derek Freestone, 77, is the latest victim of a gang targeting elderly men for their expensive watches in villages and golf courses across Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Gloucestershire.
Hampshire Police believe he is one of at least 10 individuals to have been targeted in the county by the gang, which is believed to be Eastern European.
The cross county criminals pose as charity workers with blue clipboards, asking their victims to sign a petition before grabbing watches off their wrists and making a quick escape in a getaway car.
The Telegraph has uncovered a string of new incidents this summer, including two brothers, aged 85 and 91, who were targeted by the gang 80 miles apart in Gloucestershire and Surrey.
Dozens of victims have described the attackers as either one or two women, aged in their 20s or 30s, with dark or fair hair.
Mr Freestone, a retired wine merchant from Kent, was targeted by two women matching the same description in Emsworth, Hampshire, as he made his way to the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 7.
The two women, who told Mr Freestone that they were Albanian, were dressed in white tops with blue edging, navy trousers, and black shoes, one with fair hair and the other with dark hair.
“Me and a friend were sitting in the car outside the chemist waiting for his medication and these two young girls, somewhere between 25 and 35, walked up to the car,” Mr Freestone said.
“I opened the door to talk to them as I thought they were from the chemist and they produced a clipboard saying they were getting signatures for a deaf school, no donations just signatures.
“I thought why not and I just put a squiggle on the sheet. Next minute they were all over me like a rash while I was sitting in the car, unfortunately strapped in. I tried to push them away and shove them out.”
The women made a getaway and Mr Freestone realised they had taken his £4,500 Rolex Oyster watch with them. It has never been recovered.
He called the police, who attended the scene within 20 minutes, but no cameras had caught the crime as it was in a CCTV blindspot.
The following day, on July 8, and 112 miles away, a woman targeted Michael Parry, 85, using exactly the same method to steal his £13,500 Rolex stolen while he was out shopping in his local village supermarket in Gloucestershire.
Sandi Toksvig collapses into laughter over hilarious ‘lesbians’ QI mix-up
Legendary comedian Sandi Toksvig tried valiantly to hold laughter over a contestant hilariously mishearing the words lesbian and laser beams on QI.
The TikTok channel @theqielves, which is run by the team behind the BBC quiz show, unearthed a years-old clip from QI (short for Quite Interesting for any non-Brits wondering). The TV show is known for its witty banter and for featuring Toksvig, who went down in history as the first female presenter of a British mainstream TV comedy panel show.
In a snippet from a 2019 episode, Toksvig tried to explain a fun fact about laser beams and why humans cannot see the narrow beams of light “side-on at all”.
But before she could finish her sentence, Holly Walsh, an English comedian, chimed in: “Did you say lesbians or laser beams?”
The audience and panellists immediately burst out in laughter. Sandi Toksvig stopped mid-gesture, with her hands still in the air, and looked down to seemingly fight back laughter.
As the camera panned to the other panellists, Susan Calman, a Scottish comedian and TV presenter, was practically rolling on the floor laughing.
“A Freudian slip that one,” Alan Davies quipped.
“That’s correct,” Toksvig jokingly responded. “You cannot see lesbians from side-on.”
Getting in on the joke, Calman, who is an out lesbian, proposed an experiment on the set of QI.
“I’ll go here and see how many lesbians you can see on the stage,” Calman joked as she turned to the side.
After a second, she popped back up and faced the audience, saying “I was here all the time”.
Once everyone calmed down a bit, Sandi Toksvig clarified that people can’t see a laser beam – not a lesbian – side on because the “light is so concentrated” in “one direction”.
She explained some of the light “would have to be travelling towards your eye” which happens if it “goes through dust or fog” because that “scatters some of the light”.
The people of TikTok loved the laughable gaffe, and the QI clip has garnered over 50,000 likes on the video-sharing app. Several people jokingly declared they will now be known as “laser beams” instead of lesbians.
Rolex Ripper cried ‘Sex!’ to rob victim
A pair of women have been linked to at least 14 watch robberies in affluent areas
An 84-year-old victim of “Rolex Rippers” has highlighted one tactic used by the watch-stealing women involved. He believes the same pair robbed his older brother in a separate incident more than 80 miles away.
Michael Parry, a farmer, was attacked outside a village supermarket in Gloucestershire last month, while his brother David, 91, was singled out in Farnham, Surrey, in February. The women have also been linked to at least 14 watch robberies in affluent locations in Hampshire and Dorset.
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Victims have reported being approached by the women, who sometimes pose as charity workers with clipboards. Several incidents have taken place at golf clubs and most of those robbed have been men on their own.
Michael had his £13,500 Rolex watch stolen while David was