The incident happened at about 5pm on Wednesday (November 28) as the 63-year-old woman stood on Nicolson Street at the junction with West Richmond Street.

A man came approached her from behind and grabbed her handbag and carrier bag before running off. She shouted for him to stop but he was lost to sight.

Shortly afterwards she was approached by a man who had found her handbag and handed it back to her, nothing had been stolen. The carrier bag was not recovered.

The suspect is described as white, in his mid 20s, 5ft 10ins to 6ft tall, slim to athletic build, short dark hair, wearing a white top, blue jeans, white trainers and carrying a dark-coloured rucksack.

A police spokesman said: 'We would appeal to anyone who may have seen the incident to contact police.'

Anyone with any information should contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or Crimestoppers in confidence and complete anonymity on 0800 555 111.