A woman is asking a thief who stole a designer leather handbag from a charity table-top sale to show some remorse and return it.
Francis Smith was selling some of her handbags to raise money for a children’s charity at All Saints’ Church in Ryefield Avenue, Hillingdon on Saturday, December 13.
Due to her self-confessed obsession with the accessories, she decided to sell some at the church’s table-top sale and donate any money she made to charity, as a good way to keep on top of her collection.
But she said one of her bags - a leather Dents handbag - was allegedly pinched: “A lady came along and started asking about one of the bags, I told her it was a present from my husband, but I have so many handbags, I was selling them to raise money to give to charity.
“I turned my back to serve somebody else and when I looked back the bag had gone.
“You just don’t expect that sort of thing to happen at a charity sale in a church,” she said.
The bag that has gone missing was black with brown stitching and had the recognisable Dents glove motif attached as a key-ring.
Mrs Smith, 65, who lives in nearby Sweetcroft Lane, Hillingdon, said she believes it was worth around £110.
“I don’t want the bag back for myself,” she said. “I just hope the person who took it has a conscience and decides to return it to the church so that they can use it in one of their next charity sales.”
