A "COWARDLY" mugger stole an elderly woman's pension only seconds after she collected it from a Cwmbran post office.

The attack on Monday is the latest in a spate of handbag snatches in the town over the last month.

The 70-year-old, from west Pontnewydd, had her pension snatched seconds after collecting it from Maendy Way Post Office at 9.30am.

After placing the £200 in cash in her handbag she made her way down Ramsey Walk towards Greenwood Avenue, when a youth ripped the bag from her shoulder and ran off. She was left distressed and shaken by the attack, but unharmed.

Her handbag and money have not been recovered. Police say the person they want to talk to is described as being aged between 14 and 18, around 5ft 3in tall, with short, possibly blond, hair and wearing a greyish- coloured sports jacket.

Detective Inspector Paul Evans, from Cwmbran CID, said: "This was a cowardly attack on an elderly and vulnerable lady by a man who had no thought for any injury he could have caused her."

Detectives say they are not ruling out the possibility that Monday's theft was committed by the same youth who mugged two pensioners in Fairwater. Inspector Evans warned pensioners in the town to be extra vigilant and asked them not to put up a struggle if attacked.

An 80-year-old woman suffered a broken hip after being pushed to the ground by a thief who wrested her handbag from her grasp near Fairwater shops at 11.30am on June 27. On June 21, in a wooded area near the Fairwater shops, another woman had her bag snatched with force.