A mugger was brought to justice after his victim’s husband and passers-by chased and caught him.
Paul Boyes is behind bars today after he pulled a 62-year-old woman to the ground and snatched her handbag.
The robber ran up behind the retired couple and struck the woman in the back, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The woman stumbled forward and was pulled around by Boyes as he grabbed at her bag on Longford Street, Ayresome, Middlesbrough.
She held on to her bag but the robber was too strong and pulled it from her grasp, said prosecutor Sue Jacobs.
She banged her head as both she and her husband, who were walking into town to do some shopping, fell to the ground.
The husband got up and pursued the mugger as he fled after the attack at 11.30am on December 15 last year.
Passers-by helped and Boyes was detained, said prosecutor Sue Jacobs today.
The retired couple, both 62, were left bruised, grazed, sore and shaken by the ordeal.
The woman said in a statement: “I am very angry that this man has acted as he has and it will have affected me mentally.
“I can only hope I will recover quickly as I don’t want to live in fear every time I leave my home.
“I hate the idea of having to constantly look over my shoulder at every single noise.
“I’m very grateful to those who did not just stand by but helped me in my time of need.”
Her husband said he could not believe it had happened and they would think twice about using the same route again.
Boyes, of Barley Hill Close, Eston, admitted robbery, his first offence of violence.
He confessed to his crime after he was arrested, saying he was sorry and ashamed for actions which were “out of character”.
“He said he deserved what he got when he was apprehended,” added Mrs Jacobs.
Boyes had been in court three weeks earlier and his record included a three-year jail term for possessing heroin with intent to supply.
He claimed he committed the robbery wanting to be locked up to help him withdraw from the heroin substitute methadone.
Duncan McReddie, defending, said Boyes behaved bizarrely while depressed and his mind “addled” by sleeping tablets.
“His thinking was all over the place,” said Mr McReddie.
“Mr Boyes is adamant that there will be no repetition of such behaviour.”
He said there was no loss as the handbag was returned, the injuries were minor and Boyes expressed remorse.
Boyes kept out of trouble for five years and lived a law-abiding, working life before he started using heroin again.
The judge, Recorder Felicity Davies, said Boyes’ “addled thinking” caused pain and suffering.
She told him: “This was violence in the street, mugging, and it’s too serious for you not to receive an immediate custodial sentence.”
She jailed Boyes for 20 months.
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