Robbery victim '˜still afraid to go out alone'

Danny Walden, 50, of Frampton place, Boston, was sentenced to six years in jail at Lincoln Crown Court, where it was revealed he carried out attacks on two victims over a 48-hour period.

Caroline Newton was the first victim. She was walking home from visiting a GP surgery on December 29, when Walden approached her from behind, pushed her against a hedge and grabbed her bag.

The court was told that when Mrs Newton screamed and struggled he produced a knife and stabbed her in the left shoulder before making off with the bag.

Speaking to The Standard, Mrs Newton said: “It’s had quite a big effect on me. I still won’t go out walking on my own.

“It still makes me jumpy, someone came up behind me at work recently and said ‘hello’ and because I wasn’t expecting it I swung round and swore at them.”

Mrs Newton was due to celebrate her 48th birthday the day after the incident and was carrying money from family on her at the time.

Describing what happened she said: “I don’t walk very well and when I walked down the street there was nobody there but when I turned round the corner I could see the individual in the street.”

She said she recognised him but said she didn’t suspect anything at the time.

“I looked around to see if he was following me and that was when he grabbed me,” she said.

She is on medication from the doctors because she’s having trouble sleeping.

Mrs Newton added: “I still get quite upset and burst into tears thinking about it.”

Mrs Newton said she had ‘nothing but praise’ for the police who had managed to recover her mobile phone after confronting Walden.

She said she would have liked him to have been given a longer prison sentence of 10 years, but was happy with what he had been given.

Following the incident Walden then went on to snatch the bag of a 66-year-old woman walking in the same area on her way to the hairdressers.

Walden was sentenced last week after pleading to two counts of robbery.