A SICK thief who woke up his 93-year-old victim by pressing his hand over her face before demanding money has been jailed for 18 months.

Graeme Bryden, who was 27 at the time of the offence, was jailed at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court after he targeted the woman in the dead of the night. 

The court heard that Graeme Bryden, from North Ayrshire, broke into the home of the woman in Stevenston in the early hours of June 25, 2015.

He woke her by pressing his hand over her face and demanding money.

He then took her handbag from the bedroom floor as she tried to follow him.

The next day, after a search of the local area near the property, police recovered a number of items which were identified as belonging to the woman and DNA retrieved from one of those items led to the arrest of Bryden.

Fraser Gibson, Procurator Fiscal for West of Scotland, said: “Such offences can have a devastating effect on victims' sense of security in their own home and that's why we have a prosecution policy focused on tackling crimes against older people.

“The efforts of the police and procurator fiscal have today resulted in the sentence of Graeme Bryden to 18 months imprisonment.”

“Not only will this sentence protect the public but I hope it will make clear to others that crimes such as these, perpetrated targeting some of the more vulnerable in our community, will be dealt with swiftly and effectively."