Felixstowe mugger gets three years

A MUGGER from Felixstowe who caused a pensioner to fall from her bicycle as he snatched her handbag has been jailed for three years.

Christine Hind, 71, had visited Saxmundham town centre and was cycling home when a man asked her for the time, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Mrs Hind stopped her bicycle to look at her watch and as she did so the man reached into the basket of her bike and pulled out her handbag.

The straps of the bag had been threaded through the handlebars and as 31-year-old Gary Mayhew had pulled the bag Mrs Hind had fallen off her bike into the road, said Mark Wyeth, prosecuting.

Mayhew had run off along St Johns Road with the handbag and Mrs Hind had called after him "you rotten swine".

Several passers by had come to Mrs Hind's aid and she was taken to a doctor's surgery where she was found to have bruises on her arm and hip.

After the incident Mrs Hind said she felt "devastated" and said the incident had left her with a nervous disposition.

Mr Wyath said that Mrs Hind's handbag had cost £100 and contained £10 cash, a brass clip worth £45 and her driving license.

The bag also contained her house keys which meant she had to have her locks changed at a cost of £73.

After the robbery Mayhew, who had committed the offence to fund his drug habit, went to see some friends.

They felt strongly about what he had done and made statements to the police, said Mr Wyath.

"They were disappointed with his conducted," he said.

After his arrest Mayhew, of Maidstone Road, Felixstowe, who admitted robbing Mrs Hind, told officers: "I've many a regret about what I've done and I'm sorry."

Hugh Hawkings, for Mayhew, said the offence was a bag snatch that had gone wrong.

He said that Mayhew had never intended to cause Mrs Hind any injury and he denied intentionally pulling her handlebars which led to her falling off her bike.

He said Mayhew was keen to write a letter to Mrs Hind to explain why he had committed the offence.