Cowardice of attack on an elderly man

When it is an 84-year-old man, it descends to another level of wickedness altogether.

All Michael Green was doing was leaving the Trumpet Pub in Bilston.

But his attackers spied an opportunity to exploit the vulnerability that will come to all of us as we get older.

It is the brazen nature of this attack, coupled with the age of the victim, that makes it all the more important that these thugs are caught.

They are the ones who are giving younger people a bad name and who are making elderly people afraid to go about their business.

Retired people have already done their bit for society. They have worked for decades and earned the right to enjoy their lives in comfort and in safety.

The attack itself will raise questions about the level and availability of policing. But more than that, it raises serious doubts about the depths to which morality has sunk.

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Pete Dunn describes this incident as a 'motiveless and cowardly attack on a vulnerable and elderly man'.

The cowardice comes from the fact that there was a whole gang that used the safety and strength of their number to take on a man who would have had difficulty holding his own against even one.

The 15-year-old Toyota Avensis they took was Mr Green's pride and joy but also represented a vital sense of independence.

It was smashed by his attackers who cared nothing for the years of care and attention that Mr Green has taken over his property, wishing simply for a few moments' entertainment.

This mob mentality meant their selfish desire to take something that did not belong to them took over whatever scraps and vestiges of decency they might have managed to gather.

If their parents know who they are, they should put this right by turning these yobs in to the police.

And they will have to look very carefully at the examples they have set the children who have gone so far from the rails.

It is time also for the authorities to wake up to the need to properly punish those who would prey upon the elderly.

Attacking someone in the winter of their years must carry a harsher penalty.

The elderly cannot hold their own against thugs. The justice system owes it to them to fight on their behalf.