Man attacked with hammer outside bank

A hammer-wielding robber attacked a man in his 60s as he tried to deposit money at a bank in the North today.

The victim was beaten around the head and kicked to the ground by the thief on the Monkstown Road in Newtownabbey, near Belfast.

He was taken to hospital to be treated for a broken nose, cuts and body bruising.

Police said the raider, believed to be in his 20s ran off with a substantial sum of cash belonging to the 62-year-old.

Meanwhile, a woman was dragged along the ground by a purse snatcher outside the City Hospital in south Belfast.

She had just left the building at around 1.20am when a man grabbed her from behind and tried to steal her bag.

Although the woman put up a struggle, the thief escaped with cash, credit cards, a mobile phone and personal items.

She was left badly shaken with minor injuries.