Two men accused of mugging a woman in her 80s shortly after she withdrew £200 from a Bury St Edmunds post office have chosen not to give evidence during their trial.

Before Ipswich Crown Court are Robert Duke, 35, of Broad Road, Bacton and Kyle Haggerty, 26, of no fixed address, who have both denied robbing the woman of her handbag, cash, bankcard and personal items on June 27.

The court has heard that the alleged victim was grabbed from behind and pushed to the ground during the robbery in Tennyson Road, Bury St Edmunds.

Gavin Pottinger, prosecuting, said the woman felt someone pulling the handle of her bag and she ended up with a cut on one of her fingers as a result of struggling to keep hold of it.

Mr Pottinger told the court that after their arrests the defendants each said the other had carried out the robbery.

He alleged that Duke had been in the post office queue behind the victim when she withdrew £200 and was seen to follow her along Tennyson Road.

Mr Pottinger said that Haggerty's DNA was found on a watch found at the scene of the robbery and he had pleaded guilty to using the victim's stolen bankcard 90 minutes after the robbery.

In a police interview after his arrest Robert Duke told officers that after visiting a post office in Lake Avenue in Bury St Edmunds he heard a woman shouting: "No. You're not taking that."

He said that shortly afterwards a man he knew as "Bos" ran past him with a T-shirt round his face.

"I thought he'd robbed her," said Duke.

The court heard that Haggerty told police he had sold a watch found at the scene of the robbery to Duke on the day of the robbery and said Duke was responsible for the mugging.

He said Duke had given him a bank card after the robbery and he had unsuccessfully tried to get cash with it for Duke.

The jury is expected to retire to consider its verdicts on Monday after Judge Emma Peters has completed her summing-up.