A disgusted mother reporter her own son to police after he robbed an elderly woman of a shopping bag as she walked home from her local shop.
And 77-year-old Georgina McLaren, pictured above, hit out on Tuesday after callous Robert Soutar walked free from Dundee Sheriff Court after he was spared jail and sentenced to 18 months probation.
Soutar admitted robbing Mrs McLaren of her bag - which contained only a pint of milk, a newspaper and a small amount of cash - in Dundee's St Mary Place on Sunday October 11.
He was remanded in custody for background reports after entering his plea last month and appeared in court again on Tuesday.
But sheriff Celia Sanderson allowed him to walk free - but warned that if he breached the probation order he would be sent back to jail. She also ordered him to undergo drug treatment.
She said: "The reason I remanded you last time was due to the age of your victim. Your own mother was so disgusted that she reported you to the police."
Soutar's defence lawyer told the court: "Mr Soutar pled guilty at the earliest opportunity. He has shown genuine remorse for what he did."
Mrs McLaren told STV News that she would rather have seen him banged up in prison for 18 months than placed on probation.
She said: "I don't see how he could do that to me. But I'm still determined to go out. You can't sit in the house all day.
"But I'd like him to be sitting in a prison all day though. I'd be happier with that.
"He should think - what if it was his own gran - how would he feel?
"If it was her lying on the ground after she had been pushed over - would he feel so proud?
"I would have rather seen him get 18 months in jail. As far as i'm concerned that was a proper sentence for him.
"Probation doesn't mean anything to them. I think they get off far too easy."
She added: "It has lost me my self-confidence. Even going for the paper I take my daughter with me.
"I just don't feel the same as what I did."
Last updated: 10 November 2009, 14:47
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