Kindness of strangers came to the rescue after thieves stole hundreds of pounds from 74-year-old shopper in Leamington and Warwick

A 74-year-old woman lost £600 after thieves stole her purse - but just 24 hours she had a smile back on her face thanks to the kindness of strangers.

After her family mentioned the crime on Twitter, lots of people came forward offering money.

And now Kathryn Perry has not only got her money back but has got even more than she could have expected.

The incident happened on Tuesday (September 15) when Kathryn went to do her weekly shopping in Tesco in Warwick and Morrison's in Leamington.

Her daughter, Hannah Slade, said: "Between the two places, her purse was taken out of her handbag without her knowledge and when she got to Morrison's checkout she was embarrassed as her purse wasn't there.

"She thought she had left it in the car so went out to find it. She then phoned me in tears because she realised it had been stolen.

"My husband then set off from Napton to rescue her. She was in a state of shock and couldn't pay for her shopping."

The suspicion that it was the work of thieves was confirmed when the offenders used her cards in stores in town, emptying her account.

"The worst thing was that she had just drawn out her holiday money and had nearly £600 in cash in her purse," said Hannah.

"The bank will replace the money and the transactions won't cost her, but the cash is gone and so is her pride.

"She has been crushed as she has lost her holiday money. At 74 she still works in catering to make ends meet and has been on furlough with her pay cut by half due to Covid."

Kathryn's stepdaughter, Jane, who lives in Lancashire, put it out on Twitter and her friends asked if they could donate.

So she set up a GoFundMe website - and she has raised £600 in just one day, with more donations still coming in.

Kathryn said she has been overwhelmed and addressing her family and all the people who donated, she added: "I am speechless and would like to thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart."

The link to the GoFundMe website is: https://www.gofundme.com/f/janes-stepmum?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1The family are still keen to get the purse back as it has irreplaceable photos of grandchildren inside. It is navy cream and beige with a brass clasp. If you find it, email [email protected]