A PENSIONER left bloodied and bruised after being punched in the face for just £28 cannot forget her terrifying ordeal.

Weeks after the attack 75-year-old Anne Anstey told police she constantly recalls the moment teenage mugger Michael Kingshott crept up behind her and grabbed her neck.

The 18-year-old - high on drink and drugs - then dragged her to the ground and as she lay defenceless asked: “Do you want this to get rough?”

Durham Crown Court heard Kingshott - who has been attacked four times while on remand in prison - punched her on the left hand side of the face before running off with her handbag.

Mrs Anstey, targeted as she walked home from a Royal British Legion Club, was treated in hospital and needed stitches to the inside and outside of her mouth.

She also suffered bruising to her face, upper arms, neck and knees, and will require root canal dental treatment.

Prosecutor Kathryn Dodds, quoted from Mrs Anstey's victim statement, in which she spoke of her “terror”, repeatedly recalling the incident and questioning why her attacker had been “so rough”.

She now also fears for her safety - constantly checking doors and windows and feeling unnerved at any loud noise.

The court heard that friends normally accompany her the short distance home from the RBL club in Meadowfield, near Durham. But on Saturday, June 14, they were on holiday and she was alone.

After the attack, Mrs Anstey, blood flowing down her face, managed to reach the nearest house for help and police were alerted.

She provided a good description of her attacker and officers scoured the area, but were unable to find Kingshott.

However, they recovered her dumped handbag, minus £28 taken from the purse, and found a blood stain which was a forensic match for Kingshott, who was arrested days later.

Kingshott, of Hollyoak Street, Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, admitted robbery and was jailed for four years.

Scott Smith, mitigating, said it was Kingshott's first offence of violence and that the teenager had been attacked four times while on remand awaiting sentence.

But his claims it was, “a somewhat opportunistic offence”, with no gratuitous violence, were rejected by Judge Peter Kelson.

Quoting from a pre-sentence report, Judge Kelson told Kingshott his motivation was purely financial, after his sister had earlier refused to give him money.

“You were clearly lying in wait when that lady left that club. You were consumed with a cocktail of drink and drugs, walking the streets of that village cowardly looking for a victim.

“Elderly members of our society have every right to feel safe walking five minutes home from a place of leisure.

“What has society come to when an 18-year-old man lies cowardly in wait for a vulnerable old lady? It’s despicable.”