A thief who targeted elderly women as they were out shopping in Leeds has been jailed and faces being deported.
Natasha Bihariova, 50, stole £200 from the purse of a 75-year-old woman as she put her bag beside her while she tried on shoes in the TK Maxx store in Leeds city centre.
The incident, which took place on September 14 last year, was captured on CCTV. Bihariova was arrested and committed a similar offence on April 23 this year while on bail.
A 91-year-old woman discovered her purse was missing when she went to pay for groceries at the Tesco store in Roundhay Road.
The victim initially thought she had forgotten her purse and went home to find it.
A security guard then saw Bihariova acting suspiciously in the store and she was stopped and searched. She was found in possession of the purse and was carrying £632 in cash.
Bihariova, of Milan Road, Harehills, Leeds, pleaded guilty to two offences of theft. Judge Richard Hickey jailed her for nine months.
He also ordered that the money seized be used to compensate the two victims.
Bihariova has previous convictions for targeting elderly victims and faces deportation to the Czech Republic on completion of her sentence. Judge Hickey told her: “There is no way of avoiding a custodial sentence.”