STOURBRIDGE police were today (Friday September 19) giving away personal alarms to elderly people after a spate of bag snatches on the town.

Officers were giving out up to 50 of the miniature alarms at a crime prevention day at Stourbridge Age Concern’s Elton Centre, off the ring road, until 1pm.

Pc Lynne Shelton, of Stourbridge police, said the neat little devices can be attached to shoppers’ purses and handbags - and they go off if thieves try it on.

One of the ladies queuing up to get one was bag snatch victim - Edith Alford from Stoubridge.

Eighty-something Edith, a volunteer at Age Concern, had her bag taken from her shopping trolley while out shopping in the town on August 7.

She said: “I think it’s a good idea.”

The alarms, worth around £2 each, were funded thanks to money from ‘safe and sound’ - Dudley’s Community Safety Partnership, which sees police, the fire service, Dudley Council and the Primary Care Trust working together to make the borough safer.

Pc Shelton said: “They were happy to contribute to the purse alarms to help reduce the fear of crime.”

She said there have been 19 purse/bag snatches in the Stourbridge area over the last year (September 1 2007 to August 31 2008) - five of which happened in the last three months (June 1 to August 31).

Although there have been none reported this month.