Thief snatches elderly woman's purse in Shrewsbury supermarket

The incident happened at around 10.30am on Tuesday, July 21, when the 85-year-old woman was shopping in Morrisons in Whitchurch Road.

A police spokesman said: "She hung her handbag on the hook of the trolley unzipped. When she came to pay for her shopping she found that her purse was gone from inside her handbag.

"A man thought to be of Eastern European origin, in his early 40s, around five foot two, with black hair, a moustache, wearing large black rimmed glasses, a light blue shirt and dark shoes, is believed to have stolen the purse.

"CCTV indicates that there a number of potential witnesses to the theft and police ask for them to come forward and give information."

Witness are asked to call police on 101, quoting incident 231S of Tuesday July 21. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers via 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org

Although the victim stayed close to her trolley during her shopping trip, police are urging supermarket shoppers to not leave their bags unattended on their trolleys and to keep their belongings on their person at all times.