Robber jailed after threatening to stab pensioner

Robert Alby Wetherall, 39, demanded the man's rucksack and made threats to stab him

A 39-year-old man who robbed a pensioner and made threats to stab him has been jailed for more than four years.

Robert Alby Wetherall, of Whitworth Road in Swindon, followed the 75-year-old man on Colbourne Street on 30 April and demanded he hand over his bag.

Wetherall pleaded guilty to robbery at a hearing in July and was sentenced to 52 months in prison when he appeared at Swindon Crown Court on Friday.

The pensioner, who has been diagnosed with cancer, said the robbery left him "startled and shocked".

Wetherall took the man's rucksack containing his mobile phone, charger and other personal items.

In a personal impact statement provided to the court, the victim said: "I live alone and have no family or friends nearby.

"I wasn't physically injured but mentally it has impacted me greatly.

"I just want to live normally without any fear of someone following me," he added.

PC Kash Hamid, of Wiltshire Police, said: "It is only right that Wetherall was handed a custodial sentence for his actions. He targeted a man in his 70s as he walked home alone."