A pair of heartless pickpockets pinched an elderly woman’s purse in a supermarket on her first trip out dealing with a stroke.
The 85-year-old had ‘ventured out’ for the first time since the medical emergency, but ended up having her purse and £60 taken.
The pensioner was visiting Co-op in Bexleyheath, south east London, on September 9 when the theft took place.
Police in Bexley are searching for two men they would like to speak to in relation to the incident.
The elderly woman was robbed after venturing out of her home, in Bexleyheath, for the first time since her husband suffered a massive stroke.
The two medium-build white men, both with dark hair, are seen on CCTV standing behind their victim before one man reaches inside her walking frame bag.
They then walk around the corner to inspect the contents of the purse, pulling out bank notes, before leaving the store.
One wore blue jeans and a black jacket, with the other in dark jeans and a grey jumper.
Well-wishers have donated almost £2,000 to a GoFundMe page after an 85-year-old woman had her purse pinched.
CCTV footage shows the two men dipping into her bag as she shops with her husband in the Co-Op in Bexleyheath, south east London.
Roshan Varma, a cab driver from Victoria, saw the footage on Twitter and wanted to help.
He said: “Obviously it sickened me, a little old lady and suffering from a stroke.
“I contacted the police trying to get her name just to give her her £60 back, but they couldn’t give those details.
“I had loads of people messaging me so I thought ‘right, well, I’ll start a GoFundMe and we can have it all in one place’.
“The community spirit in Bexleyheath is something else, I wish I lived in a community like it.
“Something like this touches people, anyone could have started the page, I’m not special, I just got the ball rolling.
“It’s a bit mad, it really has gone crazy.
“I expected to raise a couple of hundred, that’s all.”
The stolen purse was found discarded in Welling by a member of the public who returned it to the woman and put Roshan and the victim in touch.
A spokesman for Bexley police said they too had been inundated over the weekend with offers to help since the footage was released.
He said: “I went to see the victim on Sunday, October 8 and she, along with her husband, are overwhelmed by the public support.
“I spoke with them about the GoFundMe page and they are very very thankful to everyone who’s donated.
“I spoke with them for a long time regarding the money that has been raised so far and they are adamant that they cannot accept the money.
“We spoke over the options available and they have decided that the best thing to do with the money that has been raised is for it to be donated to a charity close to them.
“The victim suffered a stroke this year and is still recovering from that so they would like to donate the money to a stroke charity.
“I am going to be in contact with them over the coming weeks to finalise the details with them.”
So far, the footage of the theft has been shared more than 68,000 times on Facebook.
