out by a gang of Artful Dodger-style children in London.

And the theft made the headlines in the high-selling London Evening Standard under the heading "Violent London''.

The incident happened as Tim Hodgson, partner Diana Tetlow and her daughter Anna, who is set to take a job in London, were walking through the city's Leicester Square on Monday evening.

Mr. Hodgson, Editor of the sister paper of The Royal Gazette , said: "They were like a cast of refugees from Oliver -- Fagin's kids.'' And he said the girls -- one as young as eight -- may even have had a Fagin-type leader, a man who picked up Ms Tetlow's purse after it was snatched from her bag and thrown away.

Ms Tetlow -- who has been robbed twice before in Leicester Square, a popular tourist attraction -- -- added: "This was especially horrible because it was so well-planned and carried out.

"Twice I felt somebody stepping on my sandals, then I turned round and there were two girls to my right.

"One of them was no more than 12 and the other was considerably younger, certainly no older than eight.'' She said the older of the two girls started shouting at the younger one and telling her to behave -- distracting Ms Tetlow.

Then she felt someone brushing past her bag, found it was unzipped and saw another young girl running off.

The girl who had taken the purse threw it away and it landed at the feet of another young girl. She told Ms Tetlow a man with three children had picked it up and said he would hand it in to the Police -- but the purse has yet to turn up.

Miss Tetlow, 22, chased two of the youngsters down a side street and took them back to the scene of the theft.

She said: "The other girls all gathered around us and started shouting at me to let their friend go. I had her by the jumper but she tried to wriggle free, so I grabbed her by the hair to stop her getting away.

"If they were boys I would have been petrified, but I am quite able to handle myself with other girls.'' Mr. Hodgson could not find a police officer in Leicester Square and had to go to nearby Charing Cross Road, where he found an officer on traffic duty.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said the youngsters, aged between eight and 18, were interviewed, but no evidence linking them to the crime was found.

Ms Tetlow said she hoped her ordeal would act as a warning to others. She added she had now taken her daughter's advice and stopped wearing her expensive gold Rolex watch in public.

She added: "I have worked in New York and lived in a remote village in the Serengeti, but this sort of thing only ever happens to me in London.

"This is the third time I have been robbed in Leicester Square. They should put up signs for tourists warning them of the dangers.''