A robber who battered an elderly woman with his metal crutch as she counted her Christmas shopping money has been jailed for six and a half years.

Drug addict Craig Moore forced his way into his 78-year-old victim’s home and repeatedly hit her about the face and body with one of the crutches he uses to walk.

Moore, 39, grabbed her £75 shopping money before escaping leaving a crutch behind, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Yesterday he sat in the dock clutching his crutches as Judge Peter Benson branded it “a cruel and vindictive robbery”.

Sentencing Moore, whom the court was told is awaiting a hip replacement, the judge told him: “You can remain seated because I am going to show you more mercy than you showed the innocent victim of this dreadful robbery.”

The court heard how homeless Moore hung around his elderly’s victim’s flat, in sheltered accommodation in Idle, Bradford, in the days before the robbery.

On December 17, he forced his way through the unlocked front door after she told him to go away.

Prosecutor Judith Naylor said Moore immediately raised one of his crutches over his head and struck the pensioner four times, knocking her down.

She suffered a cut nose and extensive bruising to her upper body and arms.

Arrested two days later, Moore told police he had taken Valium and drunk lager and remembered nothing about the robbery.

The court heard that the pensioner had lived in the area for 25 years and felt safe. She was now a prisoner in her home, afraid even to put out her rubbish.

She went out only when accompanied by a relative and was considering moving.

In mitigation, Moore’s solicitor Anne-Marie Hutton said: “He is sick to the core about what he has done.”

Judge Benson told Moore: “You have ruined the life of a 78-year-old lady. It was a disgusting and disgraceful piece of conduct.”

After the case, Detective Inspector John Mountain, of Airedale and North Bradford CID, said: “This was a cowardly robbery inflicted upon an elderly lady in her own home.

“Thankfully, through the actions of a member of the public, the offender was swiftly identified and arrested.

“We welcome this significant sentence which reflects the severity of the incident and is a strong warning to others who commit such offences, which – thankfully are rare.

“I would like to thank the witnesses for coming forward and helping us identify and prosecute this individual.”