Heartless thieves have struck in a charity shop in Deal, stealing a handbag.

A man and a woman acted together to steal a black bag, described as “designer looking”, that was displayed on the side wall in The British Red Cross shop.

The man asked a volunteer to get him something out of the window, while the woman snatched the bag and fled the shop.

The accessory, priced £20, was a "particularly nice" donation and had raised comment in the shop.

Store manager Joan Bull, 53, said: “It caused so much upset to the customers and the volunteers. It’s just appalling.

“It put a sour note on what would have been a very nice weekend.”

“It caused so much upset to the customers and the volunteers. It’s just appalling" - Joan Bull, Deal Brisitsh Heart Foundation store manager

“The theft is from three people, the person who donated it, the person who potentially could have bought and enjoyed it and the person who would have benefited from the funds from it.”

The British Red Cross help people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. They are part of a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts and natural disasters.

Mrs Bull added: “I’d like to prick the thieves’ conscience.

"I want to make them realise it wasn’t just a handbag, it was something that could have been an aluminium blanket for somebody in a house fire of a water purification filter system for someone abroad.”

If you would like to donate items to the The British Red Cross, drop them in to the store, situated in the High Street, opposite New Look.