A 27-year-old woman has been charged with theft, after an undercover operation in Abingdon to crack down on pickpockets and purse dipping.

Eli Nanova, of Green Lanes, London, was arrested after an incident at the British Heart Foundation shop in Bury Street, at about 10.45am yesterday where she is alleged to have stolen the purse of an 80-year-old woman.

Nanova was remanded to appear at Oxford Magistrates’ Court today.