A purse and mobile phone were taken from a shopper as she was shopping in the H&M store in Atria Watford.

Hertfordshire Constabulary has launched an appeal following the purse dipping incident, which occurred on Tuesday, April 13.

The force says the victim - a woman - was shopping and realised her purse and mobile phone had been removed from her backpack when she reached the till to pay for her items.

Police have revealed footage of the incident on Youtube, which can be seen below.

They have also released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to as part of their enquires.

PC Becky Clark, who is investigating, said: “We have taken the decision to release this footage – after being given permission by both H&M and the victim – as part of our investigation.

“We are also keen to identify the person shown in the footage because we would like to speak to them in connection with this offence, as we believe they have vital information. If you think you know who the person is, please get in touch with us as soon as possible.

“We are working closely with the team at Atria to address this type of crime and in addition, we regularly run plain-clothes operations in the town centre specifically targeting purse-dippers.”

Anyone with information can email PC Clark at rebecca.clark@herts.pnn.police.uk, use the online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact, report information online at herts.police.uk/report or call the non-emergency number 101.