Brit Expat Loses Mementos Of Dead Daughter In Supermarket Robbery

A British expat too scared to reveal her identity to the media is considering abandoning her Costa del Sol home after being robbed twice in 10 days in the same Mercadona supermarket.

The 55-year old British expatriate arrived in Spain after living in the South African capital of Cape Town, taking up residence on the Costa del Sol. Originally from Portsmouth, she settled in her new La Cala de Mijas home and was enjoying her new life. Shopping in her local supermarket was no problem, until she was robbed twice in 10 days within the store earlier this month.

Describing the robberies, she admitted she might have been careless for not keeping her bag in plain sight all the time, but the second robbery was cleverly set up and she’s still not clear exactly what happened. The crooks first stole her purse containing €180, her credit cards and, worst of all, personal notes from her daughter written before she died three years ago. 10 days later and again in Mercadona, three women surrounded her whilst she was shopping, leading her to think they were simply in the way. However, when she checked her bag, she found they’d slashed the zip and remover her purse containing €30, all the cash she had over the Easter weekend until her new credit cards arrived in the post.

As well as being heartbroken about losing the mementos of her late daughter, she’s also furious over the ‘don’t care’ attitude of supermarket staff when she reported the robberies. She told local English language media she’d demanded extra security in the form of more CCTVs and barriers should be set up within the supermarket, adding she’d been very upset and wasn’t even offered a chance to speak with the manager or call the police to report the robberies.

Subsequently, another British expat reported an attempt to steal his wife’s purse in the same supermarket on the same day by a group of women. The English language newspaper is now asking for reports from others who’ve either witnessed or been victims of robberies in the same Mercadona supermarket.