‘Mugging destroyed my mum’s life’

The daughter of an elderly woman whose life was destroyed after a mugging has criticised a judge for handing down a suspended sentence to the mugger, who has more than 80 previous convictions.

The woman said the fact that the judge described the offence as an “appalling crime” made it all the more difficult for her to understand why a suspended sentence was imposed.

The victim’s daughter, Liz, said: “I would love to come face-to-face with that judge and I would say to him: ‘How would you feel if that was your mother?’