A teenage boy ran off after a woman screamed when he tried to snatch her handbag while she was walking to McDonald’s.
The attempted theft happened on Friday, while the victim was walking along Billing Brook Road, near the Weston Favell Centre.
A police spokesman said: “An attempted handbag theft took place on Friday, sometime between 7pm and 7.15pm.
“A 21-year-old woman was walking on Billing Brook Road, Northampton, towards McDonald’s, when she was approached from behind by a man who grabbed hold of her handbag.
“The woman screamed and the offender ran away, without her handbag.”
The attempted thief then ran across the B&M Stores car park, formally Focus DIY, and into an alleyway.
He was white, aged between 15 and 18, around 5ft 5in, with a fair complexion and freckles on his face. He was wearing a grey woolly hat, a red hooded jumper, with grey tracksuit bottoms and a pair of trainers.
Officers would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who may have any information regarding it.