A woman aged 29 has been arrested and a second woman is being sought on suspicion of pick-pocketing at a Limassol shop on Friday.

According to police, a 39-year-old shopper filed a complaint with police saying the two women had stolen her purse containing €2,900 while she was in a shop with her mother.

At around 4.30pm on Friday the mother and daughter were in a clothes shop when her purse was stolen. The mother had noticed the two women were close to her daughter and acting suspiciously and she alerted store security. One of the two women fled but security managed to detain the second woman, the 29-year-old, until police arrived.

They found the woman’s purse in the trash in the car park but the money was gone. The woman was arrested.

Police issued a warning to shoppers to take care in crowded places by not carrying large amounts of cash, to wear handbags crosswise and in front where they can see it at all times, or to keep money and credit cards in their front pockets.