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
BOSTON BOMBING AFTERMATH - 17TH APRIL
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .
ADORABLE BABY ORANGUTAN PLAYS WITH MUM
TUGGING at his exhausted mum's ears, a beautiful baby orangutan refuses to settle for a nap as he begins a game of peek-a-boo .
N-ICE DAY FOR A WHITE WEDDING: COUPLE WED ON GLACIER
When couples talk about wanting a white wedding, few will be referring to getting hitched on a glacier sat on top of an active volcano .
VICTIM SLAMS SENTENCE AS THUG WALKS FREE FROM COURT
A woman brutally beaten in a revenge attack has slammed the soft sentence handed to her assailant .
AN OTTER-ONE BITES THE DUST
Throwing a right hook as he launches onto his opponent with his gnarling teeth at the ready, this is the OTTER-LY ruthless showdown between two otters .
WOMAN LOSES 9ST AFTER JUNK FOOD ADDICTION LEFT HER £1.5K IN DEBT
An obese woman has lost 9st after an addiction to junk food left her £1 .
ABANDONED OLD CROW COTTAGE
AN OLD ENGLISH cottage packed full of history and valuables has been left to rot .
SCOTTISH COUPLE MARRY INSIDE BEAUTIFUL ICELANDIC CAVE
BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .
FROG FRIENDS
PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .
PHANTOM PREGNANCY NEARLY STOLE MY BABY DREAM
A young mum has told how a phantom pregnancy almost destroyed her dream of having a second child .
IRISH WOMAN FIRST ADULT IN WORLD TO GET BIONIC SPINE
AN Irish woman has become the first adult in the world to receive a revolutionary REMOTE CONTROLLED 'ROBO SPINE', which uses magnets to combat the effects of scoliosis .
MIDDLE-AGED SOMERSET COUPLE TAKE UP WRITING TO DEATH ROW INMATES
A middle-aged couple from Somerset have developed a rather unusual hobby to occupy their time: writing to killers on death row .