A 21-YEAR-old woman who tried to rob a pensioner in a shopping arcade was jailed for 18 months yesterday.

Claire Sansum, of Romanby Road, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery when she appeared at Teesside Crown Court.

Christine Egerton, prosecuting, told the court Sansum's 71-year-old victim had been walking with the aid of a stick through Barkers Arcade, in Northallerton.

Sansum bumped into the pensioner, causing her to lose her balance and fall.

The frail victim clung on to her bag as Sansum tried to take it, and was dragged along the walkway.

At this point, a man came to the pensioner's rescue and detained Sansum, the court was told

The pensioner, who was taken to hospital in a distressed state, hurt her arm in the attack.

Sansum told police she was a heroin addict. She said she had only intended to grab the bag and had not meant to hurt the woman.

Defence counsel Dan Cordey told the court that despite her heroin addiction Sansum had never troubled the courts before.

She had told her barrister: "I feel horrible and ashamed and I would like the lady to know I am genuinely sorry."