A SUFFOLK man spoke of his devastation last night after his 82-year-old mother died just weeks after being mugged near her home.Police said last night they were treating the death of Ursula Caddock , also known as Joan, as murder.

By James Mortlock

A SUFFOLK man spoke of his devastation last night after his 82-year-old mother died just weeks after being mugged near her home.

Police said last night they were treating the death of Ursula Caddock , also known as Joan, as murder.

She was knocked to the ground by a man as she walked along Halstead Road, Wanstead, east London on the morning of April 8. The attacker took her handbag.

The pensioner was taken to London's Whipps Cross Hospital suffering a fractured leg and shoulder.

She remained in hospital until her death on Tuesday.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said a post mortem showed Mrs Caddock died from acute peritonitis caused by her injuries.

Mrs Caddock's son David, from Maldon Court, Great Cornard, said last night: "I am completely cut to pieces. He mugged her for the bag and then came back for a bus pass. It's the fact that he went back that I find hard to believe."

The 55-year-old added: "She wasn't frail but she walked with a stick so I suppose she looked a good target.

"She had got her pension money out to buy us all something for Easter and had been to church as she was a regular churchgoer.

"I am not a bitter person but this tests that. It has caused so much damage. She had a good 10 years left in her."

Mr Caddock, a divorced carpenter, who has four children – David, 30, 28-year-old Richard, Barry, 26, and Tracey, 23, and four grandchildren in the Sudbury area – said his mother loved visiting Suffolk

"She last visited Suffolk about a year ago, she really loved it here and seeing her family – the grandchildren and great grandchildren – but had trouble getting across the bridge at Marks Tey station.

"I still have Christmas presents in their bags upstairs from her – I don't think I will be able to touch them now.

"She went through the war – surviving the blitz in the underground for this to happen. It's terrible you can get through all that to die yards from your doorstep. It just doesn't seem right and I can't believe it.

"This has been an absolute nightmare for the whole family. It has shattered us.

"We are just hoping against hope now that the police can get some fingerprints off the bag, which has now been found."

Mrs Caddock's attacker is described as a light skinned black man about 5ft 9in tall.