THIEVES stole jewellery worth almost £10,000 from a trader who had a stall at a fair, police say.

The stallholder was at Kingston Maurward College on Sunday, February 3 when she was approached by a man and a woman at lunchtime.

The pair picked four silver bracelets and four items of 18-carat gold jewellery.

They asked if they could wrap the items in paper and gave the stallholder a £100 deposit before putting the paper package – which the stallholder believed contained all the jewellery – into a carrier bag. The couple then handed the bag back to the woman, telling her they would return in an hour with the £9,650 still owed.

However, when the couple failed to return, the stallholder looked inside the bag to check all of the jewellery was there. She found the four gold items were missing.

The jewellery taken was a bangle set studded with diamonds, a Georgian necklace chain, an Albert necklace and a rope-style bracelet, all of which was in 18-carat gold. The total value of the items taken was around £9,600.

Police are searching for a woman who is aged in her 20s, around five feet two inches tall and petite, as well as a man who is around five feet seven inches tall and has dark hair.

PC Gemma Nowell-Smith, of Dorchester police, called for anyone with information, or those who come across items matching those described for sale in unusual circumstances, to contact police on 101 quoting 55190017636.