THREE robbers trailed an elderly grandmother from a bank and stole her handbag from her car as she was driving away, a court was told.

The 75-year-old, who is just 4ft 6in tall, had taken the money out for herself and her grandchildren, Michael Conry, prosecuting, told Worcester Crown Court.

She was targeted by three men who followed her to a nearby car park in Great Malvern.

As she started to drive away, one of the men stood in front of the car and put his hand on the bonnet to stop her.

A second man went to the side of the car and said he wanted to talk to her, then reached inside to grab her handbag which contained the £120 she had just taken out, along with her house keys and a purse with £30 in it.

The woman tried to hold onto the bag, but it was pulled from her and the men ran away despite the efforts of passersby to catch them, Mr Conry said.

The third man, Ricky Johnson, of Fairmount Road, Worcester, had been standing at the back of the car and he handed himself in to police later that day.

Salvir Aujla, defending, said Johnson had refused to name the other two men because he feared for his safety.

She said he had been on his way to visit his girlfriend at 9.30am on December 13, 2011, with the other two men when they had seen the woman waiting outside the bank.

He had joined in with the offence, but had not been directly involved in snatching the bag.

She told the court that the 21-year-old had responsibility for looking after other members of his family who were ill.

He had previous convictions for violence and disorder, but was due to start a job at the end of the month and he hoped it would give him a fresh start.

Judge Toby Hooper, QC, said it had been a frightening and distressing experience for the woman, who had behaved very courageously.

“A grown man can sink little lower than robbing an elderly lady of her handbag,” he told Johnson. The judge said he accepted that Johnson had the least responsibility of the three, but they had been looking out for a victim and had targeted the woman.

He gave Johnson a 15-month sentence suspended for 18 months with a supervision order.

He will also have to go to an attendance centre for 20 hours and complete a required activity programme workbook.

He was also ordered to pay £200 compensation by the end of August.