A failed asylum seeker stalked a 76-year-old grandmother, beat her and stole her bag
A FAILED asylum seeker stalked a 76-year-old grandmother, beat her to the ground, broke her hip and stole her bag – because he did not have enough money for cigarettes.
Abdihamid Omar watched Barbara Newell leave a post office in Lawrence Hill, followed her for 20 minutes and then attacked her from behind, a court heard.
He grabbed her around her throat, kneed her in the back of her leg and pulled at her bag, sending her sprawling to the ground where she broke her hip, repeatedly hitting her arm and calling her a bitch.
Then he bent back the fingers of the 5ft tall pensioner's hand to make her let go of her bag, containing £36.
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Mrs Newell, a widow for 25 years from Redfield, was left with a fractured hip, which had to be replaced, and suffered a heart attack following her ordeal. She feared she was going to die.
Today her family described Omar as "vermin" and called for him to be deported.
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Their call was backed by MPs, who said his permission to stay in the UK should be reconsidered.
Bristol Crown Court heard yesterday that Omar had left his native Somalia, was refused asylum but granted Indefinite Leave to Remain, also known as permanent residence.
The 35-year-old, of Haviland House, Lamb Street, St Jude's, pleaded guilty to robbery.
The court heard he tested positive for cocaine after his arrest but denied using anything other than Khat, an amphetamine- like drug which is chewed.
Jailing him for five years, Judge Michael Roach told him: "I regard this offence as thoroughly nasty and mean."
Mrs Newell's son Paul, 49, an HGV driver from Bristol, told the Evening Post: "He should have got at least eight years. I went to pick my mother up today but she is absolutely heartbroken. She wanted to leave the flat but she couldn't face him. You don't give in to vermin like that."
The court heard Omar was captured on CCTV on July 10 both at the post office and running off with Mrs Newell's bag.
Rodney Wilson, defending, said his client was a devout Muslim, married with a child and another on the way, who was a singer looked up to by youngsters in his community. He said on the day in question his wife and child had gone to London, he went to the cashpoint and only had £6.
Mr Wilson said that after being told he could not use his card in the shop, Omar "went outside, he turned right and sat at the bus stop thinking how he could get some money".
"He saw a lady leave and go to the left and he decided that he would steal her bag."
Mrs Newell's daughter Rosina, 53, a shopworker from St Anne's, said: "I hope he gets deported. He took away her dignity."
Indefinite Leave to Remain can lead to British citizenship but can also be revoked if someone who has granted it then commits a serious offence.
Stephen Williams, Lib Dem MP for Bristol West, which includes Lawrence Hill, said: "Those who have been given the full protection of the British state have an obligation to be law abiding citizens and those who abuse our hospitality should have the full force of the law against them and be returned to their country of origin, if possible."









86 Comments
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by colin, Bristol
Tuesday, March 01 2011, 1:44AM
“J F Pill. You are a DICHEAD, we are talking about an attack on an old lady for 36 quid, what would he do if the victim fought back.' Kill her' There should be only one outcome to this court apperance. DEPORT HIM AND HIS FAMILY. Then when they do these things in the future maybe the family of the acused will do something.”
by whats going on, ere
Saturday, August 14 2010, 10:03AM
“y'all got any venom left for these 4 white muggers of OAPs? story same day. 86 comments v 3 comments
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Police-hunt-muggers-victim-74-dies/article-2513688-detail/article.html”
by Sarah, Bristol
Friday, August 13 2010, 10:08AM
“We have faith schools here too
FACT: priests abusing children . . . . what kind of God would allow that?
FACT: Catholic schools will not teach sex ed and talk about restraint . . tell that to the abused children
FACT: we used to burn people at the stake & cruxify non believers
FACT: doesn't matter what you do, 5 Hail Mary's & all is forgiven
*FACT*”
by Mohamed Cantoobo, Bristol
Friday, August 13 2010, 5:43AM
“Somalis in Bristol make valuable contributions to society. Some of their contributions are:
There are small businesses run by Somalis such as shops, internet cafes, Somali restaurants etc.
Rundown neighbourhoods in Bristol are now filled by Somalis. As a result of their occupation, most of these neighbourhoods are now vibrant areas.
Also some council estates in St Paul's and Easton, where authorities experienced a high number of crimes, were transformed by Somalis. It can be argued that Somalis contributed to the regeneration of some neighbourhoods in Bristol.
There are a lot of Somalis who are drivers of Bristol buses and taxis, and some work for the Government and local authority.
There are a large number of Somalis who regularly attend universities in Bristol.and ther is also a good number of Nurses in Bristol Hospitals
Despite all these positive contributions, Somalis in Bristol face huge challenges and there is little known in Bristol about their contributions.
The stereotypical view of Somalis heard by many of the city's residents is they are benefit seekers and their only aim is to produce as many children as possible in order to get the maximum amount of benefit from the Government”
by ....., bristol
Thursday, August 12 2010, 3:20PM
“I just posted the article below, I think the fact that we are a sympothetic country and take people in who are not as lucky as us is a good thing. My son has been in and out of hospital all is life and the fact is some of our best doctors etc are from other countries and they are wonderful to my son. There are great and loving people in all countries religions etc in our own there is good and evil. What i think the main problem is her is if we were to go and live in another country we would have to obey there rules etc etc etc for example if we done something like the above we would be kicked out which I think is correct this however does not happen in England, I think however if it did peoples opions would change. People are proud of our country and so they should be people are seeing it change and they don't like it which is what is causing the hatred. All people want is for England to remain that England (if you get what i mean).”
by wibble, meh..
Thursday, August 12 2010, 11:42AM
“... hold the front page ..
Steve Coppell's resigned !!”
by JF, Pill
Thursday, August 12 2010, 9:49AM
“The fact he is a Muslim, black and a failed asylum seeker is of far less significance to the cause of this incident than the fact that he was skint and a smoker, unless of course you are some sort of insecure backwards racist with an agenda to push.
Should we put all smokers and poor people in boats and sink them in the ocean too? What about people with the same shoe size? They could turn out to be granny bashers too, based on the logic of some posters in this thread.”
by smith, East Bristol
Thursday, August 12 2010, 6:03AM
“Poor old BEP. last week when it said it was a racist act when a lad is attacked on his way from a mosque it was slammed and now people saying it is racist because it printed the truth about Omar being a failed asylum seeker. The solution to this situation is to stop Bristol City Council's racist policy of dumping Somalians in the working class areas of East Bristol. Obviously the Somali community are learning bad habits from the nasty working class racist and should be moved to those large flats and houses in Clifton Redland and Westbury on Trym. Here the area has good schools for their expanding families and more o the point the people in these area are more liberal, tolerant and much more wealthy than the rest of Bristol. I am sure the head of the Lib Dems in Bristol would welcome people like Mr Omar as a sign of the diversity of the city which she is of course promoting. It would allow the residents of Clifton Redland etc to fully appreciate the benefits of having the Somalian culture in their midst instead of having to watch from a distance. If you don't agree with the idea of moving the newcomers to the 'better' areas of Bristol then you are racist because you don't want to give the Somali community a chance to get on well.”
by Nostradamus, Bristol
Thursday, August 12 2010, 5:32AM
“"the majority here, of all the crimes in the UK most are committed by whites."
No need to point out the obvious with this, except to remind people that even by the admission of the police a far higher percentage of immigrants are responsible for violent crime. One report not so long ago found that 80% of gang rape suspects were 'non white'.
Let us not forget either the huge problem in the north of England of the grooming and pimping of young white girls by gangs of young Muslim men.
These are facts; the result of years of the loony liberal-minded 'multicultural' experiment; a misnomer if there ever was one because the logical end esult of this is a one, bland, mono culture, where nationalities, cultures, and individualities no longer exist: the utopian Marxist dream. Until then, the people of the west suffer through huge crime waves, higher taxes, more disease, less housing, less countryside, etc.
When the herd like majority wake up and see what is going on? Will they ever wake up?”
by Pete, Bristol
Wednesday, August 11 2010, 11:42PM
“As is the case in many Muslim countries, if someone is caught stealing, their hand is chopped off.
In the UK, we are supposedly "civilised" and therefore do not condone such punishments. Having said which, if Sharia Law were ever introduced here, there's a good chance quite a few hands would be missing?”