A grandmother has described how she is "in fear of leaving the house on her own" after being assaulted and having her handbag stolen after going to the shops to buy sweets for her grandchildren.
Swansea Crown Court heard Helen Hawkins, who went to the shops to buy her grandchildren some confectionery at Premier Stores in Fforestfach, Swansea , was struck to the face by Carol Day, who then proceeded to steal her bag on Saturday, February 23 earlier this year.
The court heard Ms Hawkins visited the store, and when she left, she was approached by Day, who asked her: "Are you Helen Hawkins?"
She responded saying: "Yes, do you know me?" And Day responded by punching her to her face.
Day, 55, who was using a walking stick, transferred it into her other hand, then snatched Ms Hawkins's bag from her.
Ms Hawkins followed Day, pleading with her to give the bag back to her, and she replied "no".
The bag contained £10 cash, bank cards, house keys, a mobile phone and spectacles.
Ms Hawkins said: "At least return the sweets", and Day removed the sweets from the bag and chucked them to the ground.
After the incident, the robbery victim walked into nearby Bargain Booze and asked them to call the police.
She later, with the help of her son in law, managed to track down a Carol Fender (Day) using Facebook , which was enough for police to find her attacker.
On February 26, three days later, Day was arrested.
When visited by police, Day initially denied the offence, and became aggressive, throwing items at police officers, causing them to forcibly restrain her.
During a search of her property, they found Matalan and Mecca Bingo cards and a mobile phone in the pocket of a hooded jacket.
Ms Hawkins confirmed it was her property, but "did not want them back as it reminded her of what happened".
A victim impact statement was read out to court on behalf of Ms Hawkins which stated: "This whole incident has made me feel annoyed with myself. I'm not as fit as I used to be and could not fight back.
"I'm now in fear of leaving my house on my own and I don't usually go out on my own in the evening as this has really scared me."
The people put behind bars in June:
Elwen Evans, mitigating on behalf of Day, said: "This is a lady who has had difficulties with controlled substances for a number of years and in the latter part of 2018, early part of 2019, and the situation is such she was using them to an extent that her ability to be responsible and act in an appropriate way was significantly undermined."
Sentencing Day, Judge Keith Thomas said: "The victim is now frightened about leaving her own house. That's a dreadful thing for a woman of middle age."
Day, of Heol Austin, Ravenhill, Swansea, pleaded guilty to robbery.
She was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment.
