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
VETERAN BEATEN IN REMEMBRANCE WEEKEND ATTACK
A PENSIONER was left with a fractured jaw after being beaten and robbed outside his home in Birmingham last weekend .
A SMILEY GECKO SHEDS ITS SKIN AS HEATWAVE HITS BRITAIN
STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .
BABY WITH HEART-SHAPED BIRTHMARK CONCEIVED ON VALENTINE'S DAY
An adorable baby girl was born with a heart-shaped birthmark on her forehead - after being conceived on Valentine's Day .
SHARK SELFIES
NOT YOUR everyday selfie, this plucky diver poses with some of the scariest predators in the ocean .
NINE YEAR OLD GIRL'S 'PULLED MUSCLE' TURNS OUT TO BE CANCER
A nine year old girl nearly lost her leg after doctors initially misdiagnosed her bone cancer as a pulled muscle .
BABY WHALE AND MOTHER LAP UP TOURIST ATTENTION
A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .
£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED
A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .
GIANT CANYON SWING
FORGET Thorpe Park this summer as this is a 50 mile-per-hour ride over the Colorado River CANYON .
VICTIM SAVES HER RAPIST'S LIFE AFTER HE OVERDOSES FOLLOWING ATTACK
A woman has told how she saved the life of her own rapist after he overdosed on pills shortly after attacking her .
REAL LIFE ELF - WOMAN HAS EARS POINTED TO LOOK LIKE AN ELF
A Canadian woman who is obsessed with all things mythical has had her ears cut and shaped to look like an ELF .
PLAYFUL TIGERS GET UP TO MISCHIEF
SPLASHING in the water and fighting in-between rocks, these energetic tigers enjoy their fun-filled morning .