A WOMAN had more than £1,600 taken from her bank account after a man stole her purse while she was giving directions.

The woman was loading shopping into her car at the Waitrose car park in Sherborne when a man approached her.

She noticed another man walking away from her car while she was talking, and when she checked her bag, the purse was gone.

When she called her bank, she was told that two transactions with a total of £1,000 had been carried out on her account. A further £629 transaction was made while she was on the phone, brining the total to £1,629.

The man asking for directions was described as being about 40 years old, 5ft 11ins tall and having short dark hair and an Eastern European accent. The man seen walking away was described as being about 5ft 10’ins and had a shaven head. Both were said to be wearing DK jackets.

Information to Dorset Police on 101, quoting incident number 15:0156,