A HEROIC pensioner dashed after a vicious mugger - despite smashing her head on the pavement and being dragged along by the thug.

The tenacious 72-year-old woman kept a tight grip on one of the handles of her bag even when the teenage robber had hold of the other strap.

Consequently, she was dragged along the floor in Valmare Avenue in Stanford-le-Hope at 2.15pm on Saturday.

The pensioner, who suffered a bloody cut to the head and cuts and bruises to her hands and ankles, only lost the brown bag when a handle snapped.

And she only gave up her chase when the thug sped off in a car.

Full report in Monday's Echo.