A poorly-sighted grandmother who lost hundreds of pounds in a cashpoint theft has been left angry and frustrated after CCTV cameras failed to capture the crime.

Retired teacher Daphne Miles had attended Mass at St Thomas of Canterbury before stopping outside Halifax in St George’s Street to print off a statement needed to claim income support.

But within a minute of forgetting to take her card from the ATM, £240 was withdrawn from her account.

Mrs Miles, who lives in St Dunstan’s, recalled: “I got £10 out then remembered I needed the statement, so I put my card back in, and forgot and left it behind.

"I was with a friend, but of course she was looking away while I used the machine.”

Mrs Miles received the statement at 12.16pm and just one minute later, at 12.17pm, a thief stole £240 from her account.

“That person must have seen me leave and go into Caffe Nero, or could easily have asked the numerous people sitting outside the coffee shop where I had gone, or whether anybody knew me,” she said.

“Instead, they stole a large sum of money - money I simply cannot afford to lose.

“Although I have a house - where I have lived for 44 years, and raised my children - I’m poor enough to get pension credit.”

"The thief probably thought 'she's all right', but financially I'm not" - Daphne Miles

Mrs Miles, whose eyesight is reduced as she awaits a second cataract operation, says she realised her card was missing soon afterwards while alone in Tesco.

“I felt in a panic thinking 'I can't see, I can't see',” she said.

“I felt vulnerable because I couldn’t see properly. It’s absolutely vile.

“I do look younger than I am, so the thief probably thought ‘she’s all right’, but financially I’m not.

“I really, really can’t afford to lose £240.”

Mrs Miles says the money would have been used for necessities, such as utility bills.

“It's a very, very nasty thing to do” she added.

“We live in an ageist and sexist society. People might not be interested that a little old lady had her money stolen, but I’m a real human being."

After the theft, the grandmother-of-two visited Halifax, Whitefriars and the police station in an effort to investigate what happened, but was dismayed to learn the CCTV camera facing the cashpoint had been out of action when the money was stolen.

“It seems absolutely astonishing that the camera wasn’t working,” she said. “It is like a smack in the face.

“Had the camera been there, they would have been able to identify them or follow them around on the footage.

“I thought at least if they were known to police, I would get my money back, but it looks like I won’t.

“Police said they don’t know who they’re looking for. I don’t feel satisfied with the explanation Whitefriars has given me.”

Police say they are investigating the incident, which happened on July 28.

A Whitefriars spokesman said: "We were recently made aware of this unfortunate incident and are ready to assist the police in any way we can on this matter."

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