Man breaks 90-year-old's pelvis

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/manchester/8093903.stm

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An elderly man who pushed a 90-year-old woman over and broke her pelvis after she brushed him with her walking stick has been electronically tagged.

Alfred Young, 73, was given a six-month suspended sentence and a curfew for the attack on Francesca Poka.

Manchester Crown Court heard he followed her off a bus in Fallowfield, Greater Manchester, shouted and pushed her to the ground.

He pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm at an earlier hearing.

Miss Zoe Nield, prosecuting, said Young attacked his victim after she had sat next to him on a bus from Withington, Manchester on 23 May last year.

I do not know what got into you on that day on the bus Judge Andrew Blake

She said: "As she sat down she negotiated her way to the seat and there appeared to be the merest touch of her stick against Mr Young.

"After following her off the bus he told her, 'You want to be careful with that stick', and then pushed her with such force that she fell to the ground."

Mrs Poka spent six weeks at Manchester Royal Infirmary and still suffers pain.

In a statement, Mrs Poka said her mobility had been affected and she needed two crutches, instead of her previous one stick.

Austin Welch, defending, said: "When one watches the video from the bus it can be seen that there appears to be the very lightest of touches by the victim.

"Mr Young denies any suggestion that he chased after her off the bus.

"He accepts it was excessive to push this woman in the circumstances and he is deeply sorry for the injuries caused to her."

Judge Andrew Blake said: "I do not know what got into you on that day on the bus. It was a complete loss of control."