Audrey Pearson is devastated after $300 was stolen from her bag.
By Melissa Meehan
A PAKENHAM pensioner has warned others to keep their handbags secure while shopping after $300 was stolen from her in a Narre Warren Shopping Centre.
Audrey Pearson was shopping at Fountain Gate Shopping Centre when she realised the $300 she had taken out of the bank to pay bills and groceries was gone.
“I’ve always been pretty careful,” she said.
“But I think I must have gone to Coles and not zipped my bag up properly.”
She said she had been saving to visit her sick son in New Zealand.
Mrs Pearson said she withdrew the money in Pakenham and placed it in her Bendigo Bank deposit book before putting it in her bag.
“I noticed then and there the money was poking out of the book by about an inch at the end,” she said.
“I probably should have folded the money up, but I didn’t think of that at the time.”
As soon as Mrs Pearson got home, she contacted the bank to cancel the book.
“The girl at the bank was just lovely, but I can’t do anything about getting the $300 back,” she said.
“There is no way for me to replace it.”
Region 5 Crime Prevention Officer, Senior Constable Eddy MacDonald said all members of the community should take steps to ensure they weren’t a target of thieves.
He said women should ensure their bags are zipped up and held close to their body.
