A 62-year-old woman watching hippos at the West Midland Safari Park was attacked and had her bag snatched.

Within 15 minutes of that incident, a man had several cameras stolen from the reptile house in the park, at Bewdley.

The female victim was standing in the hippo viewing area when she felt a blow on the back of her head. As she fell forward, her navy blue shopping bag was taken.

It had a zip on the side and contained cash, bank cards, keys and various medication items.

That happened at 3.15pm on Friday, June 3. At 3.30pm the same day, the camera theft took place. That haul included a Panasonic camcorder NVVS11, worth £600, a Fuji Fine Pix digital camera worth £500 and a small Samsung camera worth £150.

DC Kim Carpenter, of Wyre Forest CID, said: "It is very unusual to have incidents of this nature reported at the safari park and we are appealing to anyone with information to get in touch.

"The victim of the robbery, although uninjured, was still very shaken by her experience and it is concerning that someone enjoying a family day out should have this happen to them.

"While we are treating this as an isolated incident, we want people to be aware that it has happened and to be vigilant themselves when visiting parks, zoos and museums, keeping their bags closed and to close them at all times.

"Clearly, there would have been visitors to the safari park from far and wide on this Friday, during the school holidays, and we would appeal for anyone who saw anything that might be connected to either incident to call our officers on 08457 444888."