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
MILLIONS OF LUMINOUS FISH DWARF DIVERS
SWIMMING in unison, millions of silverside fish dwarf the divers .
FRIENDLY TOAD READY FOR HIS CLOSE UP
STARING eagerly into the camera, this little toad is full of curiosity .
HOUNDTON TABBY
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
WOMAN OVERCOMES THIGH GAP OBSESSION AND BEATS ANOREXIA
A university graduate who was obsessed with achieving a thigh gap has told how she shrunk to just 6st after developing anorexia athletica .
VIBRANT TIME-LAPSE VIDEOS CAPTURE BLOSSOMING FLOWERS
VIBRANT bursts of colour fill the screen as beautiful flowers blossom in these time-lapse videos .
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' .
OWLS ARE MASTERS OF DISGUISE IN INDIAN FOREST
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
I BLAME MYSELF FOR MY DAUGHTER’S ANOREXIA
WENDY Randall, 16, from Kent is now training to be a bodybuilder after recovering from anorexia .
MOTHER'S FEAR AFTER SUICIDE DAUGHTER’S STALKER RELEASED
A mother is living in fear after the stalker she holds responsible for her daughter's death is back on the streets, after serving just one year in prison .
HOP ON! FASHIONABLE FROG TRIES A SNAIL HAT ON FOR SIZE
FLAUNTING its new accessory, a fashionable green dumpy tree frog poses for the camera while wearing a SNAIL as a hat .
STUNNING PHOTOGRAPHS CAPTURE TORONTO'S BEAUTY IN PUDDLES
A Canadian photographer has captured crystal clear mirror images of Toronto's architecture reflected in puddles - simply by using his iPhone .
LAST MILITARY HOSPITAL TIME CAPSULE
INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .