91-year-old Lynne was robbed while out in Highgate.

Tottenham man pleads guilty to robbing Highgate pensioner

By Denise Roland Friday, September 14, 2012
3:13 PM

A Tottenham man has pleaded guilty to robbing a 91-year-old woman, in an incident that left the victim with horrendous injuries and two spells in hospital.

Eric Banton, 49, of Northumberland Park, left grandmother Lynne Elmer-Laird with severe bruising and a broken right arm after stealing her purse as she walked along Church Road from Archway Road, near her Highgate home, at around 1.30pm on Tuesday August 14.

As he grabbed the purse, containing only a travel pass, a bankcard and £20 cash, he pushed the pensioner over, causing her to smash her head on a wall and pavement.

Mrs Elmer-Laird- who lived a “busy, independent life in Highgate” before the attack- needed an emergency operation to remove a blood clot from her head after being admitted to hospital for a second time following the attack.

PC Paul Hallas, the investigating officer at Haringey CID said:” The attacker left an elderly woman on the ground in the street, without a care for her welfare.

“Words can’t express the level of depravity the perpetrator stooped to when he targeted this woman.”

A statement released by her family said: “Lynne has many friends in Highgate and is known and looked after by the local shop keepers. She was also able to go to Muswell Hill alone by bus and is a member of the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution where she attends talks and is a keen member of her local church.”

Eric Banton is due to be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on October 5.