Man gets 4 years for pensioner assault

A drug addict whose sickening attack on a 4ft 6in pensioner caused outrage around the world has been jailed for four years after admitting trying to mug his visually-impaired victim.

Well-wishers who were moved by the plight of Alan Barnes, 67, raised £330,000 (€451,000) for him within days of Richard Gatiss’s cowardly assault.

The 25-year-old pushed Mr Barnes over as he put out the bins, breaking his collar bone.Gatiss was desperate for money to buy so-called legal highs when he tried to mug him.