Shoppers must be careful not to leave valuables on display in their cars, police have said.
The warning comes after one shopper at Braintree's Coggeshall Road Tesco had their handbag and mobile phone stolen while away from the car for 15 minutes.
The thief smashed the passenger front window of the silver Ford Escort car to get at the goods, worth £200.
A police spokesman said: "People should not leave their possessions on display for any length of time.
"In this case it was 15 minutes."
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