Pensioner arrested on own driveway after being beaten up by drug addict

A pensioner who was beaten up and robbed by a drug addict was arrested after his attacker told police that she was the victim.

The elderly man, who has not been named, was setting off to collect his grandchildren from school when Renee Weaver, 41, jumped into his car and punched him repeatedly.

Weaver, a convicted robber, then took the pensioner's money and phone before threatening to smash a glass bottle into his head during the incident in Kensington, Liverpool, on 29 January last year.

Merseyside Police later found Weaver with the pensioner's phone, crying and falsely claiming she had "provided sexual favours" to the victim and that he had underpaid her and assaulted her.

The man was then arrested on his own driveway before police realised that he was in fact the victim.

When Weaver was arrested and interviewed, she initially stuck to her story for a short time before claiming she could not remember events clearly due to being drunk and on drugs.

The victim suffered a stroke while Weaver was awaiting trial for robbery, meaning he was too unwell to give evidence, leading to the Crown Prosecution Servicfe agreeing to accept pleas to the lesser offences of theft and common assault.

Weaver has 15 previous convictions for 25 offences, including for stealing from an elderly man who relied on two walking sticks and spitting in a police officer's mouth.

She was jailed for 10 months, and told she would serve half in custody before being automatically released on licence.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the pensioner felt "let down by the people who are supposed to protect us".

In a victim personal statement, written before the stroke, he said: "I am also emotionally upset as I had to endure personal embarrassment as this all took place outside my home address.

"I was arrested, handcuffed and placed in the back of a police vehicle in plain sight of my friends and neighbours even though I had done nothing wrong.

"My car and clothing was taken from me and I was left with no transport that I use daily to get my grandchildren to school.

"My car was not returned to me and I had to travel to St Helens to get it. On picking up my car the windscreen was damaged with part of the trim missing.

"I now feel let down by the people who are supposed to protect us and I am not sleeping as a result of this entire experience."

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police told the Liverpool Echo that they "acknowledge the great inconvenience" for the victim but his belongings were taken "so that our officers could gain vital evidence".