A DRUG addict who snatched a 90-year-old’s handbag and knocked her to the ground has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Sheldon Woodford followed Betty Aldworth as she made her way home with a trolley full of shopping in Boscombe on the morning of December 29 last year.

The 24-year-old, who was caught following a CCTV appeal in the Daily Echo, pounced on his victim in Michelgrove Road. Although the handbag was recovered, she was left with a painful shoulder and knee injuries.

At Bournemouth Crown Court, prosecutor Kerry Maylin said a passing van driver, Robert Edwards, witnessed the aftermath of the attack and pursued Woodford into the grounds of a nearby hotel.

Mr Edwards saw the defendant, who “appeared to be crying”, drop the handbag, and he then went to see to Mrs Aldworth’s welfare leaving two passersby to monitor Woodford.

Unfortunately he then escaped.

“CCTV was circulated through a Bournemouth Echo appeal for witnesses, and it is right to say that this defendant’s mother contacted police on January 2 and named him as the person responsible,” said Ms Maylin.

The court heard that Woodford had nine previous convictions for 26 offences, including five robberies in similar circumstances.

In mitigation, Les Smith said his client was “ashamed” of his actions during the incident, committed when he was addicted to a ‘legal high’ called “clockwork orange”.

“He was tearful at the incident, he was tearful at the police station, he was tearful to the probation officer and he was tearful in conference today,” said Mr Smith.

He said Woodford had been living with his partner in Chippenham, Wiltshire, and both she and their child had required his care following complications during the pregnancy. The defendant, who has a history of mental health issues, also had to care for his mother-in-law.

“In the words of his own mother, it all got too much for him,” said Mr Smith.

“He came back to Bournemouth to live with a friend who had been released from prison and both descended into further drug misuse.”

Jailing Woodford, Judge Peter Johnson said his crime was a “cowardly, despicable act”.

“That injury is still causing her pain,” he said.

“The sentence of this court must be a severe one.”

Woodford, of Cecil Road, Boscombe, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and asked for one burglary to be taken into consideration.