Two boys aged 12 and 13 left a pensioner unable to walk after robbing her of 20 to buy cigarettes, sweets and burgers, write Nick Evans and Phil Clee.

Phyllis Sewell, 85, was left sprawled on the pavement after the attack in Underhill Circus, Barton, Oxford.

She had been making her regular journey to Holden's newsagents on the estate to buy her nightly copy of the Oxford Mail when the two boys pounced, knocking her to the ground. They then ran off with her handbag. Miss Sewell was unable to walk for several days after the attack in January. She can no longer climb into her bath and still refuses to leave her house after dark.

The two boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were both sentenced to three-year supervision orders at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, after admitting robbery. Their mothers, who were heavily criticised for their lack of care by Judge David Morton-Jack, were both given one-year mandatory parental orders. This will force them to make the boys attend school and attend parenting lessons themselves.

Cameron Brown, prosecuting, told the court: "The two boys approached Miss Sewell and one of them kicked her stick away, causing her to fall over. She let go of her handbag. One of the boys said: 'I will take that' and they both ran off."

Mr Brown said the youths had then gone to buy burgers, cigarettes and sweets with the 20.

They were both arrested a week later and made full confessions. Eleanor Duhs, defending, said although the robbery was a disgraceful act of cruelty, a balance was needed between the court showing its revulsion and the needs of the boys.

Judge Morton-Jack told the boys the only reason they had avoided a jail sentence of more than ten years was because they were so young.

He added: "You planned to knock a defenceless old lady down and rob her of what little money she had. You know perfectly well what an evil thing that was to do."