THIEVES stole £200 from a pensioner as she bought Christmas presents for her grandchildren.

Lorraine Lown had her purse taken from her shopping trolley in High Street, Lewes.

The 68-year-old said: “This has left me feeling physically sick, I don’t know how to deal with this and move forward.

“It took me two hours to get up this morning because I just felt so scared, I don’t feel like I can leave the house.”

Lorraine, who lives in the town, had just received her pension credit from the bank and was planning to buy gifts for her family.

She said: “It takes me a long time to get Christmas presents for my children and grandchildren, so I went into the Red Cross shop because I wanted to buy some things I had seen for them earlier.”

Lorraine had the trolley beside her and felt someone push into it, so she apologised to them because she “doesn’t like getting in the way”, before going up to the counter.

Lorraine said: “When I went to pay I reached into my trolley for my purse but it had gone.”

“I just wanted to buy presents for my family and now I can’t even do that.”

Lorraine said that it was not the loss of money that has had the worst effect on her.

She said: “If they had asked for money I would have given them some, and if they were hungry I would have bought them a sandwich.

“The fact they took it is what scares me most.

“Since it happened I have had to go to the doctors and my nerves are really bad.

“I barely have the confidence to leave my flat – it feels like my whole world has come crashing down.”

Now, she wants to warn other vulnerable people in the Lewes area about the risk.

Lorraine said: “I don’t know if it’s because it’s Christmas, but I definitely think they are targeting older people in the area.

“I want to raise awareness of this risk and tell people not to keep their purses in their bags or trolleys, but to keep them on them at all times.”

Lorraine condemned the actions of the person or people responsible.

She said: “It’s a job to them.

“They don’t think about what it could do to the people they are stealing from.”She reported the incident, which happened on Monday, November 26, to the police.

A spokeswoman from Sussex Police said: “We received a report, stating a shopping bag had been stolen in High Street, Lewes.

“The victim, a woman her sixties, had the shopping bag inside a wheeled shopping trolley.

“The bag is believed to have been taken around 12.30pm on Monday, November 26, while the victim was in the Red Cross shop.

“If anyone has any information or saw any suspicious behaviour in the area at this time please report online or call 101 quoting 429 of 26/11.”

People can also ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.