A MAN who mugged a great-grandmother for her £2 fish supper was yesterday jailed for a total of 12 years after he admitted killing the pensioner.

Partially-sighted Marie Watson, 77, died nine days after she was robbed in the street a few yards from her terrace home in Heaton, Newcastle, in April last year.

Trevor Cook, 20, of Clayton Road, Jesmond, Newcastle, targeted frail Mrs Watson as she walked slowly along the street, grabbing her her bag which contained the fish and a few personal items, and dragging her to the ground.

Mrs Watson who broke her arm and suffered severe facial bruising in in the attack, died of a blood clot at Newcastle General Hospital.

Cook had been accused of murder, but yesterday the prosecution at Newcastle Crown Court accepted his plea of guilty to manslaughter before a jury was sworn in.

Mr Justice Henriques Cook said: "You were a predator lying in wait for vulnerable and defenceless elderly ladies.

''Public confidence in the courts demands a lengthy sentence which in your case is fully merited.''

Cook admitted conspiracy to rob ten women aged between 51 and 88 in the month before Mrs Watson's death in April.

He was sentenced to six years for manslaughter and six years for the conspiracy, the sentences to run consecutively.

His girlfriend, co-accused Denise Thompson, 22 of Rothbury Terrace, Heaton, who also admitted conspiracy to rob, was jailed for four years and six months.

Newcastle Crown Court heard yesterday that she she helped dispose of the contents of the women's bags after Cook had stolen them.

When police cornered Cook they found the half-eaten fish still in the wrapper, in his back garden.

DNA evidence showed that Thompson had eaten the fish, and fingerprints taken from the wrapping were those of Cook.

Further investigations were to reveal a sick catalogue of similar robberies where Cook had preyed on vulnerable elderly women.

All of the attacks were similar. The victims were attacked from behind, had their bags dragged away from them with each suffering various injuries.

Franz Muller QC, mitigating for Cook, told the court that Cook had carried out the robberies to get cash for his addict girlfriend, who was suffering withdrawals from heroin.

Keith Waton, the son of Mrs Watson, said: "A defenceless 77-year-old woman walking down the street is an easy target.

"To do this to a person who cannot defend themselves in any way is disgusting."