Brazen thieves surrounded a woman praying with her daughter inside a church to steal her purse.

The five alleged pickpockets reportedly working as a group crowded around a mother with a toddler who was then lighting a candle inside Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church in Cebu, the Philippines.

CCTV footage shows four women and a man posing as churchgoers, seemingly making a formation to cover their victim from view on September 11.

One of them stood behind the victim, using a piece of paper to cover her hand, before swiftly pulling a wallet out of the tote bag.

Within seconds, the alleged pickpockets pulled away and disappeared. The mother only realised she had been robbed when she was looking for her wallet and asked the church staff to check their security cameras.

Waterfront Police Station chief Police Major Lynbert Yango said: ‘We have identified the five suspects with the help of surveillance footage. The pickpockets were composed of four women and a man.'

The police station chief added that the five suspects also had previous theft records.

He said: ‘We are now conducting a pursuit operation to arrest them.'