THIEVES grabbed £2,300 off a man in High Wycombe town centre after distracting him by telling him he had dirt on his jacket.

The victim, who had minutes earlier withdrawn the cash from Barclays bank in the High Street, had the cash in an envelope in his inside jacketpocket.

The robbery happened as he was walking along the path by Tesco, in Newlands Street, towards Bridge Street car park, just after 11.30am on Friday.

He was stopped by a stranger who told him he had bird droppings on his jacket.

The man then took hold of him and began brushing the imaginery mark off, although the victim assured him he would clean his jacket when he got home.

A struggle then ensued and the robber pinned the man's arm behind his back while he searched for the envelope. Another man joined them, and helped to remove the cash before the two men ran off.

The first offender is described as white, of eastern European appearance, aged between 30 and 35 years old, with short light hair.

He was clean-shaven, around 5ft 9ins tall and of heavy athletic build.

The second offender is also white, around 20 years old, 5ft tall and slim.

Thames Valley Police crime reduction supervisor Mike Levine warned people to take care when withdrawing cash. He said: "If you are withdrawing or carrying, large sums of money, try and take someone along with you and be vigilant at all times even while still in the bank.

"If using cash machines to withdraw money it is always worth first checking to see if there is anything unusual about the slot where you place your card.

"It may not be immediately obvious but it could have been tampered with."

He added: "It is also not unreasonable for a customer, for the period of the transaction, to have his or her own space' and maintain personal privacy.

"Please raise your personal awareness and watch out for anyone who seems to want to share your place in front of the machine."

Anyone with information should contact High Wycombe Police Station on 0845 8 505 505, and quote reference number URN 1132 16/09/05.

Alternatively call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111