A shopper is shocked supermarket staff failed to take the theft of her purse seriously. Eve Deanus, of Seaton, said her purse, which contained bank cards, driving licence and photographs of her children, was taken while shopping at Tesco, in Honiton.

A shopper is shocked supermarket staff failed to take the theft of her purse seriously.

Eve Deanus, of Seaton, said her purse, which contained bank cards, driving licence and photographs of her children, was taken while shopping at Tesco, in Honiton.

The incident took place on Friday, November 13 - a day that proved unlucky for Eve.

She said: "I went to the customer service and was standing there in tears. The woman just said 'there, there' and said there was nothing they could do.

"They had CCTV footage but did not check it and the person responsible could have continued to walk around the shop still stealing from others.

"It made me cross. I'm a regular shopper and I feel I should have been treated better."

She said they told her the security guard was on lunch and they did not take her details or report it to the police.

Sergeant Richard Stonecliffe, of Seaton Neighbourhood Team, said such offences were rare but advised people to be careful in the run-up to Christmas.

He said: "I would like to remind the public to be particularly vigilant when shopping and ensure that valuable items, such as purses and wallets, are safely secured in fastened handbags or pockets.

"If anyone notices that such items are missing they should report this to the police as soon as possible and inform the manager of the store they were last in.

"This will ensure that any relevant evidence, i.e. CCTV footage, can be recovered promptly."

At the time of going to press, Tesco was unavailable for comment.

The public can report crime incidents to police on 08452 777 444.