A thief hiding behind a pair of large sunglasses and a headscarf has been caught on camera reaching into a woman's bag at a Sliema store. 

CCTV footage provided to the Times of Malta by the store owner shows a woman slinking across the store before reaching into a white carrier bag a customer had placed on the ground. 

In the moments leading up to the theft, the woman can be seen peering into the bag before moving to the opposite side of the store. CCTV video from another angle shows her casually browsing, looking at some bracelets and glancing at a label on a suitcase. 

At that point, she steals a glance back towards the bag. Suddenly she's on the move, gliding across the store and past other customers to the carrier bag. 

Its owner, busy with a pair of shoes, is blissfully unaware that she is being robbed in broad daylight. 

The theft happened last week and the woman escaped with the victim's purse, the store owner said. 

"Lately, several people are visiting our shop and asking if we've found their purses. These case are happening continuously in Sliema."

They said they had tried to contact the victim in the days following the theft, but that they could not get through on the number she had left with shop assistants. 

Last week, the Times of Malta published CCTV footage from another Sliema store showing the moment two young female thieves made away with an unsuspecting customer's iPhone 6 Plus. 

Know more? Contact police on 119 or 21224001.