SHOPPERS are being warned to be on their guard against pickpockets in the run up to Christmas.

The warning comes after a man was charged with theft after a woman’s purse, containing £45, was taken from her bag while shopping in Colchester.

The pickpocket struck while the 30-year-old was shopping at the Card Factory, in Long Wyre Street, on Thursday.

Insp Paul Butcher, of Colchester Police, said the incident was reported to police on patrol in the street, following which officers flooded the area in a bid to catch two suspects.

The incident was linked to another pickpocketing offence, in which £350 was taken from a 61-year-old woman’s purse, at Bon Marche, Pier Avenue, Clacton, at 11.50am on the same day.

Mr Butcher said: “We would like to warn people to be on their guard in the run up to Christmas.

“People should ensure handbags are secure and purses are not left on show.

“They should also avoid carrying large sums of cash and be aware you may be followed from a bank or cash point machine.

“The level of pick pocketing in Colchester is currently quite low, but we believe this is because the communities involved in this type of criminality know that if they come to Colchester we will do everything we can to catch them.”

Mr Butcher said Colchester Police’s experts on pickpocketing, PC Dave Underwood and PCSO Red Leeson, linked the incidents in Clacton and Colchester, following which two people were arrested by police in Ipswich.

Polish national Zofia Paczkowska, 28, who lives in London, has been charged with three counts of theft and will appear before magistrates in Colchester on December 23.