A 78-year-old woman has issued a warning to shoppers in Sudbury after she was the victim of a purse snatch in one of the town’s stores.

She was celebrating her birthday and had been out for lunch and decided to spend some time in the Barnado’s shop, in North Street.

And it was while she was in the shop that two women took her purse, which contained £35 and bank cards, from her bag and ran off down the street pursued by a member of staff from Barnado’s.

The pair made their escape into Wetherspoons where they threw the purse and its contents under a table but it was fortunately retrieved and returned to its owner.

“I just want to warn people about these people in the town,” said the woman.

“It was just such a shock as I only went into the shop to have a look around and I did not see these two people but fortunately I got it back and everything was in there.”

The incident happened on Tuesday, November 28.