Serena O'Connor works as an art teacher and a portrait expert

Jul 25, 2013 15:32 GMT  ·  By

A woman from Essex, England has had her debit card stolen during a shopping session at the grocery store.

A man came up to her asking for directions and he managed to swipe the card from her handbag.

She realized that the only way that she could find the culprit was to provide police with accurate details about his physical appearance.

51-year-old Serena O'Connor is an art teacher who also does portraits and she was able to create a painting of the thief in 45 minutes.

"I do portraits so I tend to scrutinize people’s faces and take in a lot of detail. [...] It only took me about 45 minutes. It’s not my best work, but it might just be helpful," she says.

The police were amazed at the portrait and they are asking the public for information on the robber.