A retired pharmacy courier who strangled and tied up a 95-year-old woman in an attempted robbery has been jailed for seven years. Edwin Morrison, 81, targeted Mary Morgan at her home in Little Hulton, Salford, Greater Manchester, as he remembered she used to tip him the "princely sum" of £2 when he dropped off medication in his former job. He strangled Ms Morgan and shouted, "give me your money", then bound her hands together with cable ties.

She pleaded with him to let her go as she said she could not breathe, but Morrison told her to "shut up". Morrison left the property empty-handed on January 27 after the woman's mobile hairdresser arrived, Manchester Crown Court heard. He held his hands up as if he was going to grab the throat of the hairdresser, the court was told, before she ran away and he left the house.

Sentencing on Wednesday, Judge Peter Horgan told Morrison: "Your involvement in this serious offence beggars belief but that will be of no comfort to your victims. You had identified a vulnerable, frail, elderly lady who you believed you could easily take money from. It is unclear what actually motivated you to commit this crime."

Last month, Morrison's barrister, Nick Clarke, said his client wanted cash because he did not want his family to face the financial burden of paying for his funeral.

Morrison was diagnosed with incurable kidney cancer in the summer of 2024, and told he would probably have less than two years to live.

On New Year's Day, he set up an online GoFundMe appeal titled "Help to bury me" as he outlined his health problems.

He wrote: "More or less been told to go in a corner and see my time out. I have no money to cover funeral costs and other incidentals."

However, the court heard on Wednesday that the funeral arrangements had already been paid in August 2024 by Morrison.

Mr Clarke said that it was an "error" in mitigation rather than an intention by Morrison to deceive the court and maintained his client's actions were "altruistic".

He said: "It has always been the case that he intended the money for his partner. It was not money that was ever intended for him or to pay off debts he had brought upon himself."

Prosecutors said Morrison was regularly gambling at his local bookmaker's in the months before the attack but did not visit the Betfred shop on that day.

He was also said to have expressed "concerns" about funding a new kitchen at the home where he lived with his then long-term partner.

Morrison, of Manchester Road, Worsley, Greater Manchester - who retired seven years ago - pleaded guilty to attempted robbery at an earlier hearing.

Judge Horgan disagreed that Morrison's actions were altruistic, saying: "Your motivation to act in this way was utterly self-centred and without thought for the impact on anybody else." He added it was "very likely" Morrison would die in custody.

After sentencing, Detective Inspector Paul Davies, of Greater Mancheser Police, said: "It was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and Morrison's actions of targeting a woman in her own home were shocking.

"Her resilience and strength following this vile crime have been truly inspirational and I am glad that the investigative team have been able to get her the justice she deserves.

"I also want to commend the brave actions of her hairdresser who arrived as the crime was happening. She prevented Morrison from doing anything further, got him out of the living room and called 999 straight away."

Rob Lancaster, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "I hope the fact that Morrison has been prosecuted within three months of committing this appalling offence reassures the victim, and wider community, that the CPS takes these types of cases extremely seriously.

"The strength of the prosecution case, including forensic evidence and CCTV from the surrounding properties, meant Morrison had little option but to admit his guilt at the first hearing."