POLICE chiefs have pledged to catch a gang of young thieves targeting pensioners across Bolton.

Reports of handbag snatches are rising and police say an organised gang of young thugs are to blame.

In the latest incident, a mugger snatched an 86-year-old pensioner's empty handbag so violently it dislocated her shoulder. The woman is recovering at the Royal Bolton Hospital after the attack last Saturday in Deane Church Lane, Bolton. But police chiefs today said they knew those responsible and vowed to end their reign of terror.

Ch Insp Alan Greene, of Bolton police, said: "This type of robbery is on the increase across Bolton and reports are rising. But it is a small hardcore of youngsters and we know who they are.

"We are going to catch them and we are confident that once we do the levels of handbag robberies will then fall. I would appeal for elderly people or anyone else carrying a bag to stay vigilant and alert."

A 74-year-old woman needed treatment for a head wound inflicted by an attacker who dragged her to the ground and snatched her handbag in Bradford Park Drive in another violent attack this month.