Thieves prey on shopping mums

8:09am Monday 7th May 2007

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Women are warned to be on their guard after a rise in handbag thieves targeting mothers who are out shopping.

Police are urging residents to be aware of their property and of who is around them while they are out browsing.

According to Sergeant Alex Burlison, of South Richmond Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT), thieves are stealing handbags left on pushchairs and trolleys or shielding the bags from CCTV and helping themselves to the contents.

He said: "Suspects usually work in groups with one doing the physical act of theft and then passing it on to another member.

"That way they ensure the person doing the taking does not have the property on them if stopped by police."

One father of two has called for supermarket giant Tescos to do more to protect customers after his wife had her purse stolen whilst grocery shopping with her children.

Katja Berg was placating her 16-month-old twins in Richmond's Tesco when her bag was taken from their pram containing cash, cards, a mobile phone and a camera with wedding photographs on it.

Her husband, Bas Entius, who owns Roseberg Flowers in Eton Street, said: "One of the twins was crying and Katja picked her up - someone then came up behind her and took the handbag from the bottom of the pram.

"When the PCSO went into Tesco's, they found that there was no CCTV footage - the fruit and vegetable aisle where it happened is not covered by the CCTV. My wife does not want to go into Tesco's now with the kids and she has the feeling she is not safe."

Katja, of Petersham, joins the seven other shoppers who have reported having property stolen while shopping at the George Street store in the last 12 months.

A spokesman for Tesco said: "The purpose of the cameras is to stop shoplifiting.

"The cameras are on the things that have the highest levels of theft. Customers have to keep a close eye on their belongings."

Sgt Burlison added that many of the town's stores are linked to the police by radio and that the SNT are patrolling the shopping streets.