Grandmother's purse stolen in distraction theft at Northampton supermarket

Mary Letts was doing her weekly shop at Morrison’s in Kettering Road on Wednesday morning (February 20) when a man asked her for directions to the hospital.

Upon arriving home she found out her purse had been stolen from her handbag and her card has since been used at a Co-op store and cash has been withdrawn.

Mary had even thought about helping the man but decided not to in the end.

Her son Stuart said: "I shared this on Facebook and a couple of other people have messaged me saying the same thing has happened to people they know, one at the same store and one at Sainsbury's.

"I really think people should be warned about this as it has happened more than once. I want to raise awareness with older people that this is going on so hopefully they will be more cautious.

"It's not nice to see my mum scared to be in her own home at the thought they might try and break in. They have her address from her driving licence which was in her purse."

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Police said: "This happened in Kettering Road on February 20, between 10.30am and 11am, when a woman had her purse stolen after a man distracted her by asking for directions to the hospital."