A woman who had more than £150 stolen by a pickpocket has slammed the firm behind shop where it happened for not reimbursing her.

Hayley Twyman was at the till at WHSmith in St Ann's Shopping Centre in Harrow on June 14 when she noticed her purse, containing between £150 and £180, had gone.

Staff told her the theft might have occurred in a blind spot but when she complained to customer services, WHSmith told her it was an "isolated incident".

Hayley, who was out shopping with her four-year-old son Jayden, said she spent about 20 minutes in the sale section and was "preoccupied" looking at headphones when she felt a bump.

She thought nothing of it, but when she got to the till her purse was gone.

She said. "At first I thought maybe I dropped it but then we found it had been thrown on the floor with all the cash taken out. They didn't take the cards, that would have been a pain."

She said staff at the store were hugely supportive and told her that they had asked for extra security and extra staff to monitor blind spots, which she mentioned in her complaint to WHSmith head office.

Ms Twyman believes it "would be nice" if WHSmith compensated her for the theft and reimbursed her money.

She said: "The thieves know there are blind spots in the shop but WH Smith are not admitting liability. They are trying to say it's an isolated incident but it happens all the time.

"It would make the public aware of what can happen and make them accountable for the money that went missing."

A WHSmith spokesperson did not comment on compensation.

They said: “We take the safety of our colleagues and customers very seriously. Retail crime is increasing across the UK and we have a number of security measures in place to protect our stores including in Harrow.

"As with all crimes committed in our stores, we will fully support any investigation brought forward by the Police.”

The Metropolitan Police confirmed they were contacted on 14 June to reports of a theft and that a woman was shopping when she had her purse stolen.

No arrests have been made, a spokesperson said.