Two Indian-origin robbers have been sentenced to nearly four years in prison each in Britain for brutally attacking a frail 80-year-old man.
Harbans Singh and Varinder Singh robbed the terrified pensioner in the northern England city of Leicester, knocking him to the ground and leaving him with injuries to his hands and face.
Leicester Crown Court was told this week that both the men had admitted to charges of robbery. The court yesterday sentenced them to three years and eight months in jail.
"I'm relieved to see they've been brought to court and punished. How could they attack an old pensioner like they did? I think justice has been done and I hope they have learnt their lesson," the victim told the local 'Leicester Mercury' newspaper.
The men targeted the victim inside Ladbrokes bookmakers in December, 2013.
After he left, they followed him and approached him at the junction of nearby Brandon Street, asking for a cigarette.
Prosecutor Jonathan Dunne told the court that the victim did not have any cigarettes and continued walking.
The men then pushed the victim over and grabbed his wallet, containing 40 pounds, his pension card, rent book and credit card. His hands and face were badly bruised and he suffered pain in his shoulder.
The court was told the men were drug addicts, and had spent the money on heroin.
Sentencing, Recorder Simon Ward said: "You got in such a state with your need for heroin that you robbed a vulnerable 80-year-old man at night. You thought he was an easy target. You're lucky he wasn't more seriously harmed.
"I've read he's now recovered from the bruises and pain, but as he says in his statement: 'They go away, it's the mental mark that stays with you'.
"You've made him afraid of going out and, if he goes to the shops now, he's afraid someone is going to attack him. He thinks he'll be left with that for the rest of his days."
The defendants were caught a few days after the robbery when a police community support officer recognised the pair on a city street, having seen CCTV footage of the attack.
Detective Constable Kim Potter described the robbery as "an awful attack on a defenceless and vulnerable victim".
