A mugger who ran off with the handbag of a 76-year-old woman on Monday has returned it to her home with a written apology.

The thief, said to be around 18 years old and wearing jeans and a black cap, stole the bag in Nijverdal in the middle of Monday afternoon.

A local police alert was issued for the suspect, which led to one man being wrongly arrested.

However, the real thief returned the bag, packed in a plastic bag, to his victim’s front door on Monday evening. Nothing had been taken but the thief had included an anonymous note saying he was sorry, RTL news reports.