A homeless man who tried to rob an elderly visitor in Warwick has been ordered to participate in Drug Treatment Court.

Winslow Williams, 57, admitted assaulting the woman, Barbara Miles, with intent to rob her when he appeared in Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

The court heard that people saw Williams trying to grab Ms Miles’s handbag on South Road, near Ocean Sands Road, on Wednesday.

Witnesses prevented Williams, of no fixed address, from leaving the area until police arrived about 20 minutes later.

Police later thanked their public for detaining Williams and helping Mrs Miles and her husband. The couple attended King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after the incident and were treated for abrasions.

Senior magistrate Maxanne Anderson ordered Williams, who has previous convictions, to observe DTC from Tuesday and remanded him into custody until then.

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