'Very vulnerable' pensioner with walking sticks robbed of £200 outside Ma Kelly's in Blackpool
A vulnerable old man with walking sticks was robbed of £200 as he left his local pub in Blackpool, a court heard.
The victim, in his eighties, was “manhandled” by at least two men as he set off home after enjoying his daily tipple at Ma Kellys Bar.
One of the men, Paul Earnshaw, took the cash from him at the door of the pub in Talbot Road.
But the hold-up was captured on CCTV, and police quickly arrested the 41-year-old, Preston Crown Court was told.
Earnshaw, of Raikes Parade, Blackpool, was sent to prison for 18 months after admitting robbery.
Recorder Kristian Cavanagh told him his victim had trouble walking and was a “very vulnerable individual”.
The court heard the old man was confronted by a group of people as he left the bar. He was surrounded, manhandled, and was heard to say, “No, no, please.”
The group then left, although three of them - two men and a woman - were identified by police from CCTV footage. The court heard charges against two were eventually dropped, but Earnshaw, who took the cash, was charged with robbery.
A Ma Kellys regular, who witnessed the incident but asked not to be named, said outside court: “This old chap goes in every day, sits on his own in the corner with a glass of wine, and does the crossword in his newspaper.
“He’s in his eighties and he’s a lovely man. It was awful what happened to him. He can’t walk very well and uses two sticks.
“That group of people were sitting by the door and just targeted him as he set off to go home. I just hope it doesn’t put him off coming out every day.”
Barrister Anthony Parkinson, defending, said his client had been in custody for seven months awaiting sentence.
He accepted that the custody threshold had been passed but said Earnshaw should be given credit for an early guilty plea.
Recorder Cavanagh heard Earnshaw’s criminal record, which consisted of 23 previous convictions and included offences of theft.
He said that as the victim was leaving the bar, he was stopped by the group and one of them engaged him in conversation.
He had then been “manhandled” by Earnshaw and another man before the money was taken.
In addition to the 18-month sentence for robbery, Earnshaw was also handed an additional seven days, to run concurrently, for failing to surrender to bail at an earlier hearing in July last year.