'Hole-in-the-wall' customers should take extra care when withdrawing money, particularly women on their own at night, say Worcester Police.

The warning comes after a lone woman was pushed to the ground and robbed of £20 as she used a cash dispenser at Halifax, St Swithins Street between 10.36pm and 10.38pm on Friday.

Police, who are studying CCTV of the incident, say a man of large build, but not tall, pushed her down and grabbed a £20 note as it was dispensed. The victim did not require medical treatment, but was extremely shaken, said a police spokesman.

"Inevitably, there is a certain vulnerability when withdrawing cash from a 'hole-in-the-wall' dispenser - and that vulnerability is multiplied three-fold when the customer is a woman, a woman alone and a woman alone at night.

"We urge everyone using this type of facility to think carefully about what time of day they use it, its location, if they are alone and whether there is someone close by who could be looking for an opportunity to commit opportunist crime."

Police want to hear from anyone who saw the incident or was in the area at around the time and noticed anything suspicious, such as a man waiting near the cash-dispenser or walking away from it after the incident.

They can be contacted on 08457 444 888, quoting 871S/080607. Information can also be given - anonymously - to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111,