A KNIFE-wielding robber who cut a terrified woman's wrists during a handbag snatch on a Kidderminster estate has been given four years' detention.

Drug addict David Ashbery's table knife was sharp enough to break the skin of accounts clerk Gail Lawrence, said prosecutor Nicolas Cartwright.

Ashbery, 18, of Borrington Road, Kidderminster, admitted robbery. He will be under supervision for three years after his release.

The attack happened at 9pm on April 15 after Miss Lawrence visited the Gora supermarket, Comberton Estate. It was not open but as she returned to her car Ashbery demanded money.

She began screaming when she saw the knife in his hand. There was a bout of pushing and pulling as he grabbed the bag and at one stage she was kicked in the stomach.

The bag contained £25, credit cards and a mobile phone. The following day, Miss Lawrence and her boyfriend saw Ashbery in Kidderminster and followed him before telling police.

Mr Graham Henson, defending, said Ashbery, who had convictions for dishonesty, had now kicked drugs.