A woman has been jailed for stealing a debit card from an elderly woman in St Albans and using it to withdraw hundreds of pounds.

Narwaj Boubdallah, 20, who lives in East Ham was sentenced to 22 weeks and ordered to pay the victim £200 in compensation at St Albans Magistrates Court on Friday, April 11.

Boubdallah pleaded guilty to stealing the card from the woman who had just withdrawn cash from Lloyds Bank in Chequer Street at 2.15pm. She then used the card across the road at HSBC to withdraw £300.

A 49-year-old woman and a 71-year-old man, both from East Ham, were also arrested in connection with the theft and are currently on police bail.

The three were stopped outside St Albans Magistrates Court because they were acting suspiciously in a car.  Following a routine search, Boubdallah had a bank card with someone else’s name on it down her trousers.  At the same time, officers were alerted to the theft by staff at Lloyds Bank. 

PC Shaun Woods said: "This was a cowardly attack on an elderly woman who no longer feels safe going out in St Albans.  We were very pleased to reunite the woman’s bank card and cash so quickly and reassure her that we had arrested the woman as well as two others we suspect were involved. 

"Purse dipping (pickpocketing) is one of the biggest issues in St Albans and it is very satisfying to catch people red-handed.  I’d like to remind residents to be on their guard and look out for elderly and vulnerable people who may be targeted by unscrupulous thieves."