A BEGGAR snatched money from a shopper at a cashpoint machine and ran off saying, “I’m sorry.”

Desperate drug addict Lee Brunton was arrested a short time after grabbing the £10 note and immediately confessed.

He told police he needed money to feed his heroin habit, and said he regretted targeting the woman.

The victim said in a statement: “Afterwards, I was shaken up. This should not be allowed. It could have been really serious for someone more frail.”

Teesside Crown Court heard that Brunton struck near the Sainsbury’s store in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, on June 22.

Prosecutor David Crook said: “He was sitting begging and didn’t say anything to the woman. As she got close, he suddenly charged towards her and grabbed her hand.

“She tried to resist, but he pulled the note from her grasp and ran away. She shouted after him and he responded by saying ‘I’m sorry’, but carried on running.”

John Nixon, mitigating, said Brunton had been out of serious trouble for three years after he kicked his heroin habit, but relapsed.

“This, sadly, is the outcome for him,” Mr Nixon said. “It is a sad case with serious consequences for him.”

Brunton, 32, of Borough Road, Middlesbrough, admitted robbery and was jailed for eight months.