A desperate drug addict who mugged a woman for her handbag containing a large amount of cash has been jailed for 16 months.

Clive Butcher sobbed loudly after a judge rejected a plea for him to go free so that he could receive treatment.

The 28-year-old father pleaded: "It is only because of drugs. I am so sorry. I just need help."

But Judge Jeremy Carey said despite Butcher showing genuine remorse, the gravity of the offending had to be marked with a prison sentence.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that Sandra Thompsett, 60, was walking down the street in Gillingham on May 19 when she felt her handbag being grabbed from behind.

When she resisted, Butcher pulled harder, causing her to fall to the ground and injure her right leg. He fled with the bag containing about £1,600 in cash.

Mrs Thompsett, Judge Carey said, was going about her lawful business and the last thing she wanted was to be attacked.

"I accept you didn’t strike her but the consequences of the violence was she sustained injury. She would not have done so had you not ripped the handbag from her.

"She was vulnerable and she was easy pickings."