An opportunist thief who snatched £1,000 from a vulnerable pensioner and then dropped most of it as he ran off has been ordered to pay every last penny back to his victim.

Mikey Rush, 19, watched 71-year-old Kenneth Scriven withdraw the money from his bank in Knowle on July 10 last year and decided he wanted the cash for himself.

So when Mr Scriven went back to his car, Rush, of New Fosseway Road, Hengrove, tapped on the window and told him he had a flat tyre.

As he got out to check, Rush snatched the money and ran off, leaving Mr Scriven badly shaken.

But Rush bungled his getaway, dropping £800 as he climbed over a wall to escape.

He was arrested and later pleaded guilty to theft in court.

Yesterday Bristol Crown Court heard that CCTV from the branch of Lloyds TSB showed Mr Scriven at the counter at about 11am and Rush loitering at the back of the bank.

Prosecuting, James Haskell said: "Mr Scriven left the bank and was headed to his car nearby.

"He said he felt a sharp pain to his back, but he couldn't be sure how that pain was caused.

"The defendant accepts that he snatched the cash and left Mr Scriven very shaken.

"He was arrested and denied having pushed him."

In a police interview Rush, whose ambition is to join the Army, said he saw Mr Scriven taking out a large sum of cash and accepted that he followed him to the car.

Defending, Tim Rose told the court that Rush had admitted the theft before the interview, and that while he had ample time to think about his actions, it had been a "spur of the moment" theft.

Sentencing Rush to a 12-month community order, the Recorder of Bristol, Judge Neil Ford QC, said: "You are a young man of 19 and there is nothing in your background to suggest you are a bad person.

"Now is the time in your life to stop criminal offending. Now is an opportunity for you. If you don't, you will be back before the courts and you will face custody for increasingly longer times."

He ordered Rush, who received a six-month community order last month for a separate offence of interference with a vehicle, to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, abide by a supervision order and pay back Mr Scriven his £1,000.