A footballer could lose her chance to take part in the Homeless World Cup after dropping her purse and passport in a Watford sport shop.

Casey Sweeney, 22, was set to jet off to Chile for the tournament tomorrow evening.

But after dropping her purse and passport in the intu Watford Sports Direct just after 2.40pm, she returned and discovered both items were no longer there.

She believes the items were taken by someone and Hertfordshire Constabulary has confirmed it is looking into the incident.

Ms Sweeney said: "I’m devastated. I am homeless and they have taken the only thing I have.

"It is my ticket to showcase myself as a person and not be labelled as a homeless person." 

The Homeless World Cup is an annual tournament for teams of homeless people from 64 countries around the world.