A DRUG addict robbed an elderly couple with such violence they believed they had been hit by a car.

Emmett Downes, who is of no fixed abode, attacked Brian and Ruby Pawley in Pine Tree Glen, Westbourne while the couple walked arm-in-arm on the afternoon of May 19.

The victims, both 77, were seriously hurt. Mr Pawley sustained a broken cheekbone and a deep cut above his eye, while his wife, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, had a minor heart attack.

Downes, 39, has been addicted to class A drugs for 20 years. He was taking £100-worth of heroin every day at the time of the robbery.

On Thursday, he appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court for sentence after admitting the single count against him.

Sadie Rizzo, prosecuting, said Mr Pawley had been carrying his own bag and his wife's handbag when he was attacked from behind. The victim later told police: "I thought I'd been hit by a car."

"In his words, Mr Pawley said he was shoved to the back, akin to a rugby shove," Ms Rizzo said.

"He goes to the ground, as does Mrs Pawley."

While his victims were on the ground, Downes ripped the white handbag from Mr Pawley's grasp and made off. Among the items in the bag was a pillbox given to her by her late father-in-law, which the court heard was of "great sentimental value". The handbag and its contents were never recovered.

Police released CCTV footage of Downes in a Westbourne shop after the incident. An officer from the force then told colleagues he recognised the defendant.

Mr Pawley told police he believed he "could have been killed" in the robbery. "I worked for 45 years and came to Bournemouth to enjoy my retirement," he told police.

"That has been ruined."

Mrs Pawley said her husband has become her carer since the robbery.

"I couldn't stop crying, and no one could console me," she said.

Downes holds a string of previous convictions, including another robbery committed in 2008. In September 2016, he was jailed after snatching a handbag from a woman in her late 60s as she walked in Druitt Gardens, Christchurch. The offence was committed just days after he was released from prison.

Kevin Hill, mitigating, said Downes has a partner and children, including two aged just nine months and 18 months. The defendant was clean from drugs between 2011 and 2015, but has since relapsed.

"When he is clean from drugs, he tells me he is a decent person with a great deal to offer and a strong work ethic - he's a good family man," he said.

"In his words, he is 'disgusted and ashamed' with himself. He is deeply sorry for what he did to these two people and the injuries he has caused."

Judge Stephen Climie said Mr and Mrs Pawley, who described the robbery as "the worst day of their lives", were "targeted" because of their vulnerabilities.

Sentencing Downes to six years in prison, the judge said it was "fortunate" Mrs Pawley's heart attack was not fatal.

"The suffering that has flowed from your short attack has been devastating for this elderly couple," he said.