THUG WHO BEAT UP SOLDIER JAILED FOR 9 YEARS
N evil mugger who battered a Birmingham old soldier and fled with just £40 has been jailed for nine years. Frail Bill Hopkins, 79, suffered a broken jaw in the cowardly attack outside his home last November. Mugger Richard Christie , 48, pounced on the pensioner from behind, repeatedly punching and kicking him in the head. He ran off with the OAP's wallet - which contained the cash, bank cards and a card from his late wife's memorial service.
Other great stories
THANKSGIVING DINNER PREPARED BY ARTISTS
An artist has transformed traditional Thanksgiving dinners into mini-masterpieces .
FISH AND BIRD TANGO
A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .
CROHN’S SUFFERER HAS HUMILIATING ACCIDENT AFTER CO-OP STAFF REFUSE TOILET ENTRY
A Crohn's sufferer has told of her humiliation after she soiled herself when a Co-op staff member reportedly refused to let her use the toilet .
RED SMOKE AT NIGHT, VOLCANO SPOTTERS DELIGHT
With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .
THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BABY COT
A LUXURY baby cot has hit the shelves with a price tag just shy of 10 MILLION POUNDS .
CRICKET FINDS AN UNUSUAL SEAT
A cricket perches on an unusual seat after crawling up the snout of a crocodile .
ABANDONED FARM HOUSE LEFT TO ROT
With a dust covered coat hung from a wardrobe door and a pair of glasses left on a shelf, a remote farmhouse lies abandoned in the Welsh countryside .
WORLD'S MOST IDYLLIC BOMB SITE BEAUTY
WELCOME to the Hidden Beach - the world's most idyllic BOMB SITE .
BOOM SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE THE ROOM
WELCOME to the 125 decibel boombox bus that could damage your hearing if you party too close to its giant speakers .
VIBRANT WOODPECKER FEEDS HER YOUNG
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
BRAVEHEART: BABY GIRL SURVIVES HEART SWELLING TO SIZE OF ORANGE
A baby girl has become the youngest British patient to receive a life-saving cardiac operation after her heart swelled to twice its normal size within days of her birth .
WOMAN DISCOVERS PREGNANCY…AS HER BABY BEGINS CROWNING
A support worker was stunned to discover she was eight months pregnant after she was rushed to hospital with 'stomach cramps' .