An 85-year-old grandmother has been left "heartbroken" after having her handbag snatched in Yiewsley.

June Lucas, of Langley, was mugged in the Yiewsley Wilkinson's car park on Thursday (October 1) at around midday, during a quick shopping trip with her daughter.

The bag and contents - including her late husband's watch - were stolen.

Mrs Lucas waited in the car, in a disabled bay, while her daughter, Patricia Thompson, nipped into Wilkinson's and nearby Iceland.

A man “yanked the door open, grabbed hold of her bag and ran off, witnessed by several people”, said Mrs Thompson.

She told getwestlondon: “The next thing I knew there were ladies coming up to me asking: 'Had I left my mum alone in the car park? And she'd been mugged!'

“The worst thing about it is, it's not the monetary things she's lost or the handbag, it's my late dad's watch, which was the last thing taken from him when he died.”

The family are desperately looking for the stainless steel quartz bracelet watch, with an ordinary dial, which was made in the late 1990s.

Mrs Lucas said: “It would mean the world to me to have it back.

“When my husband died my son-in-law took it off his wrist and gave it to me, and it's been in my handbag ever since.

“I had it with me all the time, I never took it out of my handbag.”

'Vile scumbag'

Her daughter, Patricia, says it would be “incredible” to get the watch back and describes the detrimental effect the incident has had on her mother, who lives at home with her in Langley.

She said: “I've had to take her to the doctor because as [the mugger] wrenched it from her in the car and pushed the door back, she's got a black foot.

“She's still got high blood pressure from it but the doctor said that's understandable and she'll probably take a couple of weeks to calm down from it.

“I've taken her out shopping since, but if someone starts coming up on the left-hand side of her she starts getting panicky... that's the psychological effect it's had on her.”

Mrs Thompson is grateful for the help she received that day, adding: “The three ladies there were fantastic with my mother, Wilkinson's could not have been more helpful, they got the CCTV for the police.

“The police were there within two minutes, they were fantastic as well.”

Mrs Lucas' grandson, Darius Thompson, has been appealing for information on Facebook since the incident.

He said: “[My grandmother] has not had an easy few years since losing my granddad and her son.

“The money is irrelevant, but the vile scumbag that wrenched her handbag from her arm has a watch that belonged to my grandfather.

“If anyone in the area comes across a burgundy handbag or stainless steel watch please get in touch.

“There is a small reward for the return of the watch.”

If you have any information about the incident call police on 101, or if you think you can return the watch, contact Darius by email: darius.thompson.92@gmail.com.