Two elderly ladies were left distraught after their purses were snatched in Honiton.

A purse containing £250 was stolen from one victim in one of two thefts carried out in Honiton at the weekend.

The unsavoury incidents, which happened on Saturday, April 21, left both woman ‘distraught’, said PCSO Rich Shelton.

The first theft took place in the West of England School for the Blind shop in High Street.

A purse holding £250 was taken from a pocket of a shopping trolley.

The other theft happened in the Cancer Research UK shop in Lace Walk.

Police say a woman’s purse, containing £20 and various bank cards, was lifted from her handbag.

One of the cards was then used a short time later to make several contactless payments at nearby Boots.

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: “Both thefts happened within a short time of each other – between 11.45am and 11.55am.

“In both incidents, two women of Asian appearance were seen acting suspiciously near the victims in the shops.”

One of the women was aged 30 to 40, of slim build with dark hair in a ponytail.

She was wearing pink traditional Indian dress.

The second was aged 20 to 30, around 5ft 9ins tall with long dark shoulder length hair with blond tips.

She was wearing dark-coloured clothing and a woollen hat.

Anyone who can assist police officers in their investigation is asked to contact them via 101@dc.police.uk or by phone on 101, quoting crime reference CR/033918/18.