An East Finchley mum is hoping for "magic to happen" after her designer bag was "sold" by a charity shop.

The RSPCA said staff at the High Road charity shop made a "very genuine error" in selling a Balenciaga handbag, with no price tag, on January 20.

Zharkyn Ermekovna popped into the shop at about midday and took off her bag to try on a Max Mara coat, which had an £80 tag.

The mum-of-two, who lives with her parents-in-law, forgot the bag in her rush to get back to her children.

The shop was closed by the time she realised her mistake and she told the Ham&High she was "devastated" when she returned the next day to find it had been sold, even though it contained her possessions including keys.

Zharkyn, who paid £564 for the bag in Harrods in July, said: "They said someone asked how much is the bag.

"I believe when you sell something in a shop you know what you have – and there has to be a price tag. You can't sell something just like that, especially when it's a designer product.

"I asked how it was sold full of items and they said it was empty and they would not look at the CCTV.

"It's shocking. I don't know what happened, I don't know what the truth is."

Ham & High: Zharkyn Ermekovna's designer Balenciaga handbag was 'mistakenly sold' to a customer at East Finchley RSPCA charity shopZharkyn Ermekovna's designer Balenciaga handbag was 'mistakenly sold' to a customer at East Finchley RSPCA charity shop (Image: Zharkyn Ermekovna)

A spokesperson for the charity would not say how much the bag was sold for, or what happened to Zharkyn's belongings.

They said: "We have apologised to the owner of the bag for selling it, it was a very genuine error made in good faith, and are making efforts to track it down."

They said CCTV showed Zharkyn left the bag in a changing room and an hour later it was taken to the till by a customer.

"The handbag was empty at that time and there were no obvious signs that it was a misplaced personal item so was sold in good faith," they said.

"It was only when the owner of the bag returned the next day that it was discovered a genuine mistake had occurred.

“The branch is appealing for the customer who bought the bag to get in touch so it can be returned to its rightful owner.”

The charity said it has launched an investigation and contacted the Met Police, which said "enquiries continue".