A homeless woman who left a vulnerable victim traumatised and injured in a street robbery has walked free from court.
The victim, who has multiple sclerosis, was in Sunderland to visit a friend in hospital when she was suddenly attacked as she walked along the street by Lynsey Doeg. She snatched her handbag in a violent struggle which snapped its strap and left the victim with bruising, a torn fingernail and reopened stitches in her mouth.
As Doeg was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court, the woman went into the witness box to outline the severe psychological impact of the ordeal, which has left her afraid to go out alone and has triggered previous trauma. She said: "I see her face all the time very clearly. I close my eyes and there she is. I feel maybe she needs to see me.
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"One thing that shocked me was there was so much determination in her face. I feel there was no malice, she just didn't see me, I was a vessel with a bag to be stolen and I was not a person. But I am a person, a person who now struggles to sleep.
"I can't even go shopping on my own, every time I go out someone has to be with me. Nobody can touch me without advance notice and my PTSD from a violent and abusive childhood has been triggered. I live in a world of fear again, it's so hard.
"I'm back in a mire of blackness where the heart can't heal, where my soul screams to be released from my life, this body, this world."
She added: "I'm destitute too. There was just £35 in my purse. That had to last me ten days and it was taken from me. What was I supposed to live on, how was I supposed to get back to my autistic son?
"My bag was a gift from my darling nana not long before she died. Even that is defiled.
"The impact of this offence has been huge. I've got M.S. and had no power to push her back. When I called for help nobody helped.
"I've been hurt physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. I don't deserve this. I hope the hit was worth it because right now I can't stop crying.
"I still can't understand why you did this and I can't forgive myself for not being able to stop you taking what was precious to me."
It was on July 10 this year that the woman was on her way to Sunderland Royal Hospital, in an area she was unfamiliar with. She was planning to visit a shop and was on the phone to her son asking for directions.
As she walked along, she felt someone behind her was pulling on her handbag, which was on her shoulder. Doeg repeatedly yanked at the bag, falling on her bottom at one point, before running off down an alley with the bag.
In the struggle, the victim dropped and damaged her phone and her glasses fell off. Doeg was arrested nearby and the bag was recovered but items of value, including a credit card and money, had been taken.
Doeg, 39, of no fixed address, who has nine previous convictions, pleaded guilty to robbery. Recorder Nathan Adams sentenced her to 16 months suspended for 18 months. Doeg, who has served three months on remand, was visibly delighted at the fact she was getting out. She will also be subject to an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement and rehabilitation.
Jamie Adams, defending, said: "Lynsey Doeg herself is an exceedingly vulnerable woman. She was homeless and living on the street in a hopeless alcoholic state for about three years.
"She's exceedingly remorseful for what she did. I know saying sorry doesn't always suffice but if the victim knows it's heartfelt and truly felt then it might help her on the road to recovery.
"She was in a state of desperation. She had not received any money for a long time, everything she got was got by way of desperation."
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