A FAMILY'S Christmas was ruined when a thief took a pensioner's handbag from her shopping trolley, stealing her valuables and leaving her stranded without a way to get home.

Muriel Parry, 71, was in the Home Bargains shop in Cwmbran on the afternoon of Saturday, December 19, when the thief struck.

Inside Mrs Parry's red handbag was a large sum of cash, a mobile phone, bank cards, keys, and her bus pass – she was left in Cwmbran town centre without any change to pay for a bus home, and had to walk back in the rain.

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Mrs Parry has dementia, and one of her children, Paul, said the theft had left her "broken".

"We can't believe that there's someone out there, in one of the worst years of the decade, that will target a pensioner with mental health [conditions]," he said.

Gwent Police are investigating the theft, and shared CCTV images of a woman they would like to identify in connection with their enquiries.

South Wales Argus:

CCTV images of a woman Gwent Police would like to identify in connection with the investigation into the theft of Muriel Parry's handbag in Cwmbran. Picture: Gwent Police

For Mrs Parry and her family, however, the incident has left them shaken.

"The incident has soured our Christmas," her son told the Argus. "Our mother is trying to replace all the missing items such as keys and bank cards, and has bought a new bag that goes over her shoulder, since her red bag was a small handle bag that she left in the trolley.

"She feels as time has passed, the chances of getting her belongings and money back are slim."

He added: "There's been a fair bit of bad news over our Christmas period, so this on top really challenged us and we're all very exhausted mentally."

South Wales Argus:

Muriel Parry and her son Ryan. Picture: Ryan Parry

Mr Parry said the family was less concerned with recovering his mother's valuables than with catching the culprit, and he urged anyone with information to contact the police.

He also thanked members of the community for sharing his appeal and for their generosity. He said Natwest had sent his mum a box of chocolates when they heard about the theft, and local community organisation CoStar Cwmbran had given her a Christmas hamper.

A spokeswoman for Gwent Police issued the following appeal: "Officers are appealing for information following a report of a theft of a handbag from a personal shopping trolley whilst the victim was shopping in Home Bargains, Cwmbran over the Christmas period.

"We believe the offence took place sometime between 2.30pm and 4pm on Saturday 19th December 2020.

"The red bag that was stolen contained between £600 and £800 cash, a mobile phone, bank cards and a bus pass.

"Officers are now trying to identify the person in the CCTV retrieved from the area as we believe they may be able to help us with our enquires."

Anyone with any information or anyone who may have witnessed the incident should contact Gwent Police by calling 101, or sending a direct message to the Gwent Police Facebook or Twitter account, quoting reference number 2000458574.