A DRUG addict snatched a handbag from a 59-year-old woman enjoying a stroll near the river in Stourport.

Darren Farmer claimed he took only £10 out before throwing the bag in the water but the victim told police there was £350 inside it, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Farmer, 25, of Broach Meadow, Stourport, pleaded guilty to robbery and was jailed for 27 months.

Mrs Hazel Silwood and her husband were walking through the Civic Centre car park on July 25 last year when Farmer drove up behind them with a female passenger in his car, said Neil Chawla, prosecuting.

He grabbed the bag from the victim's arm through the driver's window but his registration number was taken.

Farmer said in a police interview he was withdrawing from heroin and had acted "in a moment of madness".

Deni Matthews, defending, said Farmer had kicked his habit after voluntarily going through a rehabilitation programme.

He expressed his regret at the offence and sympathised with the victim.