Letter to the editor: On Saturday, August 9, I was shopping in Bluewater. At 7pm I went into the Forever 21 store. After selecting some clothes I used the fitting rooms.

While in this fitting room, I came out to ask the opinion of the staff member on some of the clothes. When I went back into the cubicle I discovered my handbag was missing.

I immediately came out, distressed, to tell the staff member. She contacted the manager. He arrived on the scene.

I repeated what had happened, but he displayed a complete lack of concern and empathy.

Because of the huge gap between the cubicles at the floor level I spotted my handbag in the next cubicle under the occupant’s clothes. I told the manager what I had seen. He did and said nothing so I asked him politely could he knock on the door and get my bag back.

He was very reluctant to do this. He tapped the door once and the occupant just ignored him. I went into my cubicle and asked the occupant to please give me my handbag back.

He immediately pushed my handbag and a bag of shopping I had not noticed missing back under the gap into my cubicle. I happened to come out of my fitting room at the same time as the thief. The manager was nowhere to be seen and no attempt was made to apprehend him as he strolled out of the store.

I shouted after him: “Why don’t you go back to your own country and steal from them?” (he was short and black).

I was so angry at having to do everything myself, without any help from the manager or staff.

A member of staff (white) told me I was being racist. I told her to mind her own business, I had been robbed. I was then refused service and told to leave the store. I refused as I felt that I was the victim here. They then sent for the two security men and also two policemen. I am a woman and 70 years old. They did not bother to call security and the police when my bag was stolen.

One officer interviewed the members of staff and the other interviewed me – well, kind of. He took my name and address, wrote nothing down that I said and told me I was a racist. No mention was made of the thief, who was long gone. They would not check the CCTV and I was thrown out of the store and banned. The officer told me I could be banned from Bluewater altogether.

HELEN SWIFT, Dartford