While most of us were pretty pleased with our January sales shopping trips, shopper Pam Anderson was left upset after being pickpocketed while searching for the bargains on Oxford Street.
The mum-of-three was attempting to pay in Uni Qlo earlier this month when she realised her purse had been taken while at the till.
But it wasn’t losing the money she was most upset about. Insdide was personal letters written by her children – ones that she'd kept on her for over 20 years.
And while previously battling breast cancer, Pam, 50, was given an angel figure which was also kept 'safe' in the precious purse, too.
But after the upsetting incident, Pam saw that Londoners aren’t all bad, as not one but FIVE strangers comforted and uplifted her that day, and actually helped get the purse back to her.
Six hours later, the irreplaceable purse was back in her possession, all thanks to the work of these five strangers.
And those five strangers - and five acts of kindness - were...
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A store security guard finding CCTV footage of the theft and ringing Mrs Anderson to tell her he was passing it to police
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A refuse worker opening bins in the street so she could see whether the purse had been discarded inside
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Her hair salon offering her a free haircut when she had to cancel her appointment because of the theft
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A businessman ringing that evening to say he had found the purse on Oxford Street before meeting her with it an hour later at 11pm
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Her Uber driver offering to join her for the meeting in case it was a scam.
Speaking about the incident to the Evening Standard, Pam said:
“I was in shock and really upset at what happened but I will remember the incident for the amazing generosity I was shown.
“You don’t hear about these acts of kindness as much in London but this shows how great the people who live here can be. It restored my faith.
“One nasty act; five acts of kindness. I’ll remember that the next time I hear a story about London crime figures," said the moved mother.
And in an interesting cycle, the man who had found Pam’s purse had a similar experience several weeks before. having lost his own on Oxford Street, hence why he felt overjoyed to be able to return hers to her.
Pam said:
“He told me that he had dropped his wallet on Oxford Street a few weeks earlier and a passer-by had handed it back to him. He remembered how relieved he was, and was happy he could do the same.”
How sweet! Although the £80 cash had been taken from the purse, she was reunited with the bits that mattered the most to her, alongwith a restored faith in humanity.