To the thief who stole the purse from a 14-year-old schoolgirl’s bag last Thursday, August 12: This was her first unaccompanied trip without an adult present, to do her geography project. It took me more than four hours to earn that money and you stole it from a child in seconds.

I hope and pray you don’t do it to anyone else and if you have any decency in you, then get in contact with this paper and repay what you stole. I work hard and teach my children to do the same and live a good and honest life. You have set them a really bad example.

To the person who found the purse in the toilets of Churchill Square and handed it in, and to the customer service lady who rang me, thank you.

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