A 71-YEAR-OLD woman who was the victim of a violent mugging has spoken out about her ordeal and her unwavering faith in people from the area.

Heather Darling was walking through The Knapp, in Dursley, when an unknown man lunged at her and snatched her handbag, leaving her with a dislocated shoulder and broken arm.

Gloucestershire Police are still appealing for anybody with any information on the crime to come forward and assist with the investigation.

Mrs Darling, who moved to Dursley in October last year, was walking down The Knapp at about 11.15am on Thursday, September 4, when she spotted a man she had seen before coming towards her.

She said: “I had seen him a couple of times before in that area. He had a very round, pale face and looked quite ill.”

While passing her, the man made a sudden dive for her handbag.

The resulting struggle, in which she was pulled to the ground and dragged briefly across the floor, left Mrs Darling with a dislocated shoulder and broken arm.

Within minutes she was found and police and paramedics were called. She was taken for hospital for treatment.

“He suddenly dived for my handbag and I wouldn’t let go,” said Mrs Darling, describing the incident. “I was trying to hang onto it and he dragged me along the road before getting it off my arm.

“I had just had a recent knee replacement so I couldn’t get up and chase after him. I’ve got quite a nice knee now as well so I could have done some damage if I had.”

Despite being left shaken up by the experience, Mrs Darling’s resilience has seen her retain a level of optimism while she recovers.

She continued: “It has left me a bit shaken up. I find myself checking faces when I’m out in town and I’m also going around my house ensuring that doors and windows are locked.

“But I like people. It would never occur to me that somebody would do something like that.

“It hasn’t made me feel like leaving. The people around here have been so kind to me after it happened that it has actually made me feel even more at home.

“I know, from what people have told me, that it’s incredibly rare for something like this to happen here. I was just very unfortunate.”

Police have released an e-fit of the robber. He is described as white, in his 40s, stocky, about 5ft 7ins tall. He was wearing a dark, grey jacket, a fawn jumper and a brown baseball cap.

The stolen bag is described as multi-coloured with a chevron design. It contained a blank 2015 diary, a small black purse with a bank card and cash inside, keys and a doctor's letter.

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting incident no 178 of 4/9/14.