Nice night's work, Mr Handbag Thief4.12.2008
This week our very own Princess and the Pea, Anna, had her handbag stolen in a restaurant in London by a lovely man who clearly thought he had more right to her belongings than she did. So we thought it would it be a good opportunity to seek out the best advice on keeping your handbag safe and share it with you. So here goes, these are Northamptonshire Police’s tips for hanging on to your handbag:

• Don’t leave your bag hanging unattended on a shopping trolley or pushchair
• Keep your bag securely closed
• If you have a bag with a strap, wear across your body with the openings facing inwards
• Don’t put your bag on the floor to browse shop shelves or try on clothes in changing rooms (hang it up when in a changing room)
• Don’t carry valuables in your bag that you don’t need when you are out, and that includes large amounts of cash
• If you are just carrying your purse, hold it close to your body or carry it in a secure or front pocket
• Don’t keep your cash card with your cheque book
• Stay aware of what is going on around you
• Don’t share your PIN with anyone

A final precautionary measure recommended by the police is to attach a bell (the ones cats wear to alert birds of impending doom) to your bag or purse. You will know immediately if your bag is being tampered with. Some police forces distribute free bells to shoppers at Christmas.

In my friend Anna’s case, she thinks Mr Handbag Thief was sitting behind her and gradually leaning over to ease her bag out from under her chair, until he could grab it easily and flee into the night. A bell attached to her bag would have alerted her the very first time he touched it. Emotional Baggage would like to extend a particular hand gesture to Mr Handbag Thief by sending a free bell to the next 10 customers who purchase a handbag from us.

As a result of Mr Handbag Thief’s inability to earn an honest living, Anna could not stay in London as planned and had to leave the city in the middle of the night and get home without money, cards, ID, mobile ‘phone or train tickets, not to mention the lovely bag that had been a present from her sister. Like I said, nice night’s work, Mr Handbag Thief.