MUGGERS TAKE TREASURED PHOTOGRAPHS
PURSE GRABBED AS GRAN QUEUES AT COUNTER
A DISABLED grandmother says she has been left unable to sleep and is constantly looking over her shoulder after a mugger stole her purse containing treasured photographs of her late father.
Caroline Best, from Stapenhill, was targeted while shopping at B&M Bargains in Coopers Square shopping centre.
The silvery grey purse contained precious photographs of David Best when he gave away his daughter on her wedding day.
There was also a treasured snap of Caroline’s daughter Melissa as a girl doing ballet and two much-loved keyrings – a silver glittery cat given to her by her granddaughter and a teddy bear one she cherishes.
The purse also contained her payment cards and £50 in cash.
Caroline said: “I can’t believe what that person did – I was vulnerable.
“When it happened I was so exhausted and in pain and I hadn’t taken my painkillers. I just felt violated.
“It is the way they did it in front of everybody. It showed how sneaky they were.
“That Friday night I couldn’t sleep as I could just see the photo of me and my dad.
“I have lived in Burton for 60 years and this has never happened before.
“It never used to be like this when I was growing up. There is too much stress and no respect for anyone. Everybody is out for themselves.”
The purse was snatched between noon and 1pm on Friday, December 14, as Caroline queued at the counter.
The 60-year-old needs a walker to help her get about and suffers from a disc problem in her back. She also has fibromyalgia, which causes pain all over the body.
She was at the counter buying two pairs of slippers for her granddaughters and noticed a couple behind her who were “too close” but she carried on paying for her presents.
She said she got her credit card out of her purse and put it on the counter before putting her new purchases in the bag, which is attached to her walker.
But in a momentary lapse she started to leave the store and it was only when she got to the doorway she realised was still holding her credit card and had not put it away – and her purse was missing.
She said she went into a “state of panic” and realised the purse was no longer on the counter and had been stolen.
Now she wants to warn others about how quickly thieves can strike. Caroline, who used to work as a healthcare assistant at Burton’s Queen’s Hospital, said: “I had my walker with me but it was full of Christmas shopping and I went in to get my last present, plus I was tired and in pain.
“I went to the counter and put my purse down while I used my credit card to pay.
“I then put the last of my presents into my bag but because I was so tired I forgot to pick up my purse. I ended up in tears, panicking. I was holding my bank card and thought ‘why am I still holding this when it should be in my purse?.’
“I was standing in the shop doorway when I noticed I still had the card in my hand. I turned back to the manageress and the shop girls came over and I was panicking.
“I just could not find it, so I went straight to the till it was on and asked if it had been handed in.
“My daughter Mel rang me and I burst into tears. My daughter rang my son Gavin to come and get me.
“I am disabled, in a lot of pain and had a walker full of presents. If they had taken one of the presents it wouldn’t be so bad but I had personal things in my purse.
“They were on the prowl. This shouldn’t have happened.”
The staff at B&M Bargains phoned police and Caroline has been contacted by officers, who are investigating the crime.
Caroline, who has four children and four grandchildren, said: “I nearly collapsed when it happened.
“I am now on the edge all of the time – it took me a week to go back into town.”
A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: “We were called at 13.21pm on Friday, December 14, to a report of a purse theft from a till point at B&M Bargains in Underhill Walk, Burton.
“The purse is described as silver, with two keyrings on it (one of a teddy bear and one of a cat) and contained payment cards, photos and cash.”
“Anyone with any information can contact the force on 101, quoting incident number 387 of December 14.”