Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Disabled woman chases would-be thief on street
A DISABLED Dundee woman today told of the “scary” moment she confronted a would-be thief who tried to make off with her purse on a busy city street.
Pauline Yuill — who suffers from fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis — was walking down Marketgait when a pickpocket tried to steal her purse.
The 50-year-old believes that she was targeted because of the fact that she was using a walker due to her disabilities.
Pauline, who comes from the Whitfield area of the city, said she turned around and saw a woman had her hand inside her bag trying to get hold of her purse in broad daylight.
She managed to rip the bag back out of the grasp of the woman before she chased the perpetrator away.
Pauline today told the Tele of the “horrible” experience, which has left her scared to leave the house alone.
She said: “I was just walking down the Marketgait and I felt someone pull on my bag.
“I turned around and a woman had her hand right inside my bag.
“I pulled my bag away from the woman and shouted at her.
“She took off running down the street and got away.
“I was totally shocked by it because nothing like that has ever happened before.
“You don’t expect something like that to happen in Dundee. “I got the fright of my life. “I was walking using my walker and I think that is why they tried to take advantage of me.
“I think they thought I was more disabled than I am because of the walker.”
She said after the attempted theft she got a new bag, saying the one she had was too easy to get into.
She added: “It is quite shocking to have to go and buy a new bag because something like that has happened.
“But I thought it was the best thing to do given the circumstances.
“I can’t believe that someone would be willing to do that to another person.”
Pauline has spoken out about the incident to warn locals that they could fall victim to similar attempts while i n t he city centre.
She added: “I shudder to think what would have happened if it was an older person or someone who is more vulnerable than me that had been the victim.
“I didn’t report it to the police because she didn’t get away with it. It could have been much worse if she had managed to.
“I just think that people need to be aware that this kind of thing is happening in the city and to be careful when they are out.
“It isn’t nice for people visiting Dundee either.
“If that had been someone visiting the city then it would have looked really bad.
“It could have an impact on tourism.
“Dundee doesn’t need this kind of thing happening.”
The incident took place on Wednesday at 1pm on Marketgait in the city centre.