An academic was left shaken after a thief snatched his wallet containing £500 off a bank counter mid-transaction and escaped.

Fariborz Shafai, 58, was withdrawing the cash at HSBC in Folkestone’s Sandgate Road on October 18 at about 11am when the crime happened.

A British national originally from Iran, he noticed a white man dressed in a light blue tracksuit pacing nervously behind him as he spoke to the cashier.

The thief grabbed the wallet and bolted for the door before the bank was placed on emergency lockdown.

Mr Shafai, who studied Politics, Law and Government at Kent University in Canterbury, said the suspect cannot be forgiven.

“I was making the transaction at the till, I was taking out the £500 and I noticed a man behind me acting nervously.

“He stole my wallet off the counter and he ran out the door, for some reason the bank door was left open that day, it shouldn’t have been,” he said.

“It caused an anxious atmosphere in the bank - you could see people were worried.

“I didn’t feel too well afterwards, I felt like a wrong had been done.

"He stole my wallet off the counter and he ran out the door, for some reason the bank door was left open" - Fariborz Shafai

He added: “I can’t use a sympathetic expression for this type of crime, it is not justified in the law in this country.”

Philosopher Mr Shafai, author of the Marxist Ontology of Georg Lukacs who moved from Canterbury to Folkestone in 2000, claims the bank refuses to compensate him.

The ex-Stafford House school pupil added he was hopeful CCTV footage would unearth a fresh lead however, police said the footage was unclear.

Meanwhile Mr Shafai said he’s saddened by the crime and warned others to be wary.

“I feel it is true that we need to be more careful when we are out if crimes like this can be committed inside a bank and the criminal not caught.

“A member of the public phoned me shortly after and returned my wallet and I was grateful.

“But the cash had been stolen by the bank thief.

“This should be treated as bank robbery.”

He added Kent Police are carrying out forensic checks on the wallet.

A spokesman said: “On Thursday 18 October 2018 a wallet containing cash was stolen from the victim whilst he was stood inside HSBC in Sandgate Road between 11am and 11.35am.

“The suspect reportedly ran out of the bank and in the direction of the nearby churchyard."

A HSBC UK spokesman said: “We are sorry that Dr Shafai was the victim of theft whilst in the branch and are glad no one was hurt in the incident. Branch staff followed standard procedure and contacted police immediately. As a gesture of goodwill, we have paid the money stolen into Dr Shafai’s account.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call the Kent Police appeal line for East Kent on 01843 222289, quoting reference 46/ZY/63002/18.