A SIDMOUTH purse snatcher has been sentenced to four months in a young offenders institution- two years after fleeing the town.
A SIDMOUTH purse snatcher has been sentenced to four months in a young offenders' institution- two years after fleeing the town.
The 19-year-old Bosnian woman was handed the sentence for thefts, committed in Sidmouth in 2007, by Manchester City Magistrates last month after she was arrested in the city's Moss Side area.
Sidmouth PCSO Steve Blanchford-Cox has been praised for "single-handedly" detaining the thief in May 2007. The woman was bailed to appear before magistrates the following December but fled the county.
Sergeant Andy Turner said: "I was very impressed with how PCSO Blanchord-Cox handled the situation and there has been convicted as a result. We encourage people to continue to be vigilant as they have been."
PS Turner added that the police team's pick-pocket deterring lanyard project has been a smash-hit with Sidmouth residents.
Around 1,000 of the lanyards, which attach to purses and bags, have been handed out and a limited supply is available to be collected form Sidmouth Police Station's front office.
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