Taking the crisis out of a drama

LAST week, my mother, one of Godmanchester’s more senior citizens, now in her 80s, underwent a very distressing episode.

She was shopping in Waitrose in Huntingdon, when she noticed that her zipped shopping bag was partially undone. On inspection, she found her purse had disappeared.

The staff at the Waitrose store were superb: they reassured her, checked the store and, once it became obvious that the purse had indeed been stolen, they went into action. The police were notified, other stores in the town were contacted, and CCTV was checked.

The result was amazing. The staff at Sainsbury’s spotted a purse being thrown into a bin. It was recovered and returned immediately to my mother. The cash was missing but cards in place. The suspected culprits were spotted on CCTV and later interviewed by the police.

Later in the day the police called to see my mother and were reassuring and supportive as they took her statement, and she was even contacted the next day by victim support services.

I would like to offer a big thank you to all those concerned who assisted my mother through this traumatic event. It is good to know that our community is so well supported by its retail staff and the police. Well done everyone.

DAVID UNDERWOOD

Fishers Way

Godmanchester