Three people have been arrested following distraction thefts in Sevenoaks, where older people have been targeted at cash machines.

A man, aged 37 and two women, aged 30 and 32, have been arrested after a police helicopter was used to follow a car from outside a bank in the Sevenoaks town into Surrey.

Kent police were called at 11.20am on Tuesday, March 15, to a man in his 70s who had been approached by a man and a woman at a cash machine in Sevenoaks High Street.

The woman was wearing a lanyard and claimed to have been working for the bank – according to police.

They were challenged by a witness who suspected a scam was taking place and police were called.

Detective Constable Tony Hatcher of west Kent CID said: “We are carrying out an extensive and comprehensive investigation into the activities of these three suspects and have to also consider the possibility there may be other offences we are not yet aware of.

“If you think you may have seen any suspicious activity at cash machines in or around the Sevenoaks area in recent weeks, please contact us.”

Police received details of a vehicle - a blue Ford Focus, which investigations linked to previous similar incidents at cash machines in Sevenoaks.

The car was first tracked to Biggin Hill, where its movements were watched closely from a police officer helicopter.

It then stopped in a car park in Warlingham, Surrey, where the driver fled on foot and scaled a fence onto a railway line.

The driver was found in a nearby shed by a police sergeant and was arrested.

Colleagues also detained two women from within the car.

Searches of the car and surrounding area led to the recovery of a suspected cloned number plate.

Several addresses linked to the suspects were searched in Beckton, London, where ten phones and more than £1,000 in cash was found.

The three suspects were later bailed pending further enquiries, to return to a police station on April 12.