Brid holidaymaker dies after cyclist snatches bag from her mobility scooter

Police say they cannot “evidentially link” 73-year-old Pamela Roddis’s death to the incident in the resort.

But officers believe the “stress and upset of the theft may have contributed to her deterioration in health”.

Humberside Police said Ms Roddis was on her mobility scooter outside the Gala Club on Bridlington promenade when a cyclist rode past her and took her black shopping bag containing £300 in cash and her mobile phone on January 26.

A force spokesman said Ms Roddis was so shaken by the theft that she cut her holiday short and returned to Sheffield the next day.

She died on January 30 of a brain haemorrhage.

The spokesman said: “Although her ordeal in Bridlington cannot be evidentially linked to her death, Pc Robert Brigham (the investigating officer) and her brother, Barry Neilson, believe the stress and upset of the theft may have contributed to her deterioration in health.”

Ms Roddis holidayed regularly in Bridlington, staying at various guest houses for one week at a time every month for the past 10 years.

Pc Brigham said: “I have located two CCTV stills of a man on a bike I would very much like to speak to in connection with the theft of the handbag.

“It was sad to hear Ms Roddis had passed away back in Sheffield, before I could identify her offender and bring him to justice.

“Now I must do so for her family in order for them to grieve.

“I have spoken to her immediate family and passed on our condolences, not just from the police force, but on behalf of Bridlington.

“Pamela Roddis chose for the past 10 years to holiday with us for a week at a time every month, and her very last visit to our seaside town, she was left shaken, upset and saddened.

“In Ms Roddis’s memory, I need the public to help identify the cyclist shown in the CCTV, who I believe can help me with my inquiries.”