A DRUG addict desperate for cash stole his grandmother's pension, robbed his mother, stole his grandmother's video and then snatched a purse from a woman walking in the street.

Duane Hilton snatched an envelope containing £105 in cash from his mother minutes after she had collected his gran's pension.

Hilton then stopped a short distance away, took £85 and threw the remaining £20 in the envelope on the floor and then ran off. His mother called the police.

When he was later arrested Hilton said he had just borrowed the money to pay off debts and intended to pay it back but his mother disputed his version of events.

Hilton, of Wigan Road, Leigh, appeared at Bolton Crown Court yesterday for sentence for a total of 11 offences, including burglaries, assault, theft, handling stolen goods and failing to surrender.

Judge John Roberts jailed him for a total of two and-a-half years, and the sentence included offences for which he had previously been given probation and had subsequently breached.

Prosecutor Adrian Dugdale said Hilton and another man, Sean Hughes, had been seen dumping a stolen car when it ran out of petrol.

Hilton was arrested nearby and admitted he had borrowed it from a friend and suspected it had been stolen. Hughes was later cautioned.

While on bail he stole his grandmother's pension and was bailed again but failed to appear in court. Later he admitted handling a stolen bicycle worth £200 which he sold for £10.

While a warrant was out for him Hilton visited friends

on the pretext of paying back money he had borrowed from their 13 year-old son.

While he was there the mother went out and Hilton also left, returning a short time later to tell the boy that his mother had agreed to let him borrow the video. He then sold it for cash.

Hilton then burgled his grandmother's house while she was away using keys kept at his mother's house. He took her video and £24 from a TV pre-pay cash meter.

Once again Hilton failed to attend court and went out and snatched a purse containing £200 in cash belonging to 59 year-old Evelyn Lee.

She had been walking with her purse in her hand along War Memorial Square in Leigh towards a travel agent where she was going to pay for a holiday to celebrate her Ruby wedding.

Hilton came up behind her and snatched the purse from her hand. She yelled "Stop thief" and several passers-by chased Hilton.

The police were called and eventually found Hilton hiding up a fire escape. Mrs Lee, a diabetic, was badly shaken by the incident and was left crying and shaking and at one point she had fainted.

The offences Hilton was re-sentenced for after breaching probation included assaulting his former employer.

Errand

He had been working at the dentist as a trainee dental technician for just five days when his employer gave him £20 and sent him on an errand. He returned more than two hours later and claimed that the cash had been stolen.

The dentist accused him of stealing the cash and Hilton punched him on the nose and walked out. He also stole 16 cans of beer from an off-licence but was caught on video and arrested.

Later he burgled his mother's house in Glebe Street, Leigh. She was ill and was in bed upstairs when she heard her son shouting through the letter-box. She ignored him and dozed off.

When she woke later she found a window had been smashed in the door and a brand new Dyson cleaner had been taken. He sold it for £38 at Cash Generator in Leigh.

Kathryn Koro, defending,l said that Hilton had left school with nine GCSEs but had got in with the wrong crowd. He had a history of abusing drugs.

He was genuinely remorseful and apologised to his victims and wanted to be sent to jail so he could go on a drug-free wing and use his time to get cleaned up.