A BIKE-RIDING riding bag snatcher who dragged an old lady along the ground just weeks after being freed on early release from prison is back behind bars.

Anthony Higson targeted his elderly victim in what a judge called 'one of the most callous and disgusting type of crimes'.

Higson, 33, attacked his 84-year-old victim as she walked in Snuff Street, Devizes, was walking towards the town centre just before 3pm on Monday, October 5.

He cycled towards her and grabbed her handbag, pulling the pensioner to the ground and then dragging her along when she refused to let go of her bag, fracturing her pelvis.

Another local criminal who witnessed the attack was so horrified by what he saw he joined forces with the police to track down an capture the 33-year-old.

Now Higson, who was on early release for an armed robbery in Portsmouth, has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years with another two-and-a-half on extended licence.

And because a judge ruled he posed a significant risk of serious harm in the future he will serve two thirds of the time inside before he can apply for parole.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court how the pensioner was walking on Snuff Street on Monday October 5 when the robber struck.

"The defendant, on a pushbike, cycled up behind her, grabbed her handbag and continued cycling on," he said.

"She held on to the bag for a while, then fell to the floor and fractured her pelvis. She was great distress and taken to hospital.

"It is noteworthy in this case that one of the principal witnesses was Scott Grant, a man not at all unfamiliar with the criminal justice system. He was appalled at what he had seen."

Mr Meeke said Mr Grant first gave chase and when he lost him returned to the scene to tell the police what he saw, that he knew who did it and where to find him.

He then took police to the home of Higson's girlfriend on Colston Street and, when she answered the door, anticipated he may make a break for it.

Mr Grant and a pal went down the side of the house and when the defendant jumped out of a window they held him and handed him over to officers.

As a result of the attack Mr Meeke said the victim spent just under four weeks in hospital before returning home.

What happened greatly changed her life as she was independent before but now feared going out alone saying 'This whole incident had shaken me to the core'.

Since being released from hospital she has struggled to sleep without the light on and finds it hard to concentrate, making reading books difficult.

Higson, of no fixed abode, admitted robbery.

Tony Bignall, defending, said his client was also in breach of his licence conditions after coming to Wiltshire to stay with his girlfriend.

He said soon after his release he started taking class A drugs again and was sorry and ashamed of what he had done.

Jailing him, Judge Peter Blair QC said: "She must plainly have appeared to you as being somebody who was vulnerable, both by her age and her movements, and you chose to try and rob her.

"The consequences, as you dragged her along the ground and she got caught up in her arm strap, holding on to it as best she could, is she then had a broken pelvis which for someone of that age is a very, very, serious injury.

"It led to her spending many weeks in hospital and since she has been released from hospital has dominated her life, in that she is unable to participate in the leisure activities that she use to enjoy.

"Now in the cold light of day you are sorry for what you did.

"It was one of the most callous and disgusting type of crimes that can take place in the range of robberies that come before these courts, when elderly people are targeted and caused serious sorts of injuries.

"Another well known criminal was so shocked at seeing your behaviour in the street that it was him that set about helping the police to catch you, because he was so disgusted at what he saw."

Detective Constable Jim Adams, of Melksham and Devizes CID, said: "This was a despicable crime against a vulnerable, elderly woman, who suffered a serious injury as a result of the robbery.

"She spent more than four weeks in hospital after the incident, but even now she is still suffering the after effects.

"Not only is she still in physical pain but she has been left too scared to go out of her home alone. She told the court, through her victim personal statement, that she had been left 'haunted' by what had happened."