Terminally ill woman testifies from Wirral hospice bed

Bonnie Hughes said she "couldn't let them win"

A terminally ill woman said she was "determined" to give evidence from her hospice bed so the men who robbed her would not get away with it.

Bonnie Hughes, who has a brain tumour, had her purse stolen while out shopping in Birkenhead last year.

The 33-year-old testified via a live video-link from her bed in Manor House hospice in Wirral in the successful prosecution of thief Paul Hodgson.

"Just because I'm visibly vulnerable I couldn't let them win," she said.

Ms Hughes said the theft in the Pyramids Shopping Centre on 17 March "really shook me up".

Her purse was stolen from her pocket by two men who had asked her the time, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Steven Watterson, 57, pleaded guilty to the theft and was jailed for eight months but his accomplice Hodgson denied the offence.

'Particularly poignant'

By the time the case went to court, Ms Hughes was seriously ill.

The CPS set up a video-link and gave her a bible to her to swear on so she could take part in the the hearing at Sefton Magistrates' Court.

"I was determined to make sure the defendant was prosecuted for what he had done to me," Ms Hughes said.

"I am seriously ill now so there was no way that I would have been able to get to the court to give evidence."

Hodgson, 48, was found guilty of theft and jailed for 13 months at Liverpool Crown Court on 4 January.

More people are giving evidence remotely during the Covid-19 lockdown in order to reduce transmission of the virus at court.

Neil Colville, from the CPS, said the case was "particularly poignant" as Ms Hughes is "seriously ill yet she was determined to see this man brought to justice".