A Moray woman has warned others to beware of a suspected “pickpocket” she claims targeted her handbag.
Kim Francis, from Cullen, was visiting Buckie to deposit £150 into the bank when she believes it was pinched by an opportunistic passer-by.
The part-time cleaner says the sum was the result of a week of hard work and has since cautioned residents in the coastal town to be on their guard.
Mrs Francis had parked her car at Newland’s Lane before walking to the Royal Bank of Scotland building on East Church Street.
She believes the money was stolen during that short trip on Monday afternoon.
The 53-year-old said: “I had the money inside my paying-in book in my handbag, but when I reached the counter at the bank they were not there.
“I went back and retraced my steps but it was nowhere to be found.”
It was only when Mrs Francis returned to the bank to inform staff of the missing paying-in book that she discovered someone had handed it in.
However, the cash that she had tucked between its pages had been vanished.
She added: “It seems that somebody has lifted it out of my bag, taken the money and then thrown it away.
“Now I feel so stupid that I didn’t zip my bag, but you don’t expect these things to happen.
“For me, £150 is a lot of money because I am a self-employed cleaner.
“It was almost a week’s pay, and it’s upsetting to think somebody opportunistic has gone off with it.
“I just hope that other people in Buckie take extra care so that this doesn’t happen to them.”
The Cullen resident said she works part-time because she is a Jehova’s Witness, and devotes much of her life towards voluntary bible education work.
Mrs Francis has also appealed for the person who took her paying-in book to the bank to contact the venue with information on where it was discovered.
She claimed that police told her that, because there was no proof the money was stolen, her case would not be treated as a crime.
Instead, the missing money has been categorised as “lost property”.
The police did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.