Elderly woman bashed in carjacking

A 15-year-old will appear in Hamilton's Youth Court today after he allegedly dragged an elderly woman from her car, beat her and drove off in the vehicle.

He was later stopped in Huntly with three passengers in the car.

The attack happened at the Urlich shopping centre in Melville, Hamilton, on Wednesday at 11.30am.

Police said the boy had initially approached the parked car and demanded the elderly woman get out.

When she refused he pulled her out, dragged her to the ground and beat her several times round the head and chest.

She suffered a cut to her head that required four stitches, and bruising and grazes to her right shoulder, arms and boy.

The boy was remanded in custody at his initial court appearance yesterday, but is due back in court today to face a charge of aggravated robbery.

Hamilton CIB head Detective Senior Sergeant Russell Le Prou said carjacking was unusual, and he struggled to remember a similar incident in recent years.

"I'm concerned about any crime that relates to violence, particularly against elderly people.

"This kind of thing isn't prevalent. As far as we see it, it's a one-off - it's not common or escalating."

Last Thursday, a 73-year-old woman was mugged during daylight hours while she stood on a main road near a major Hamilton shopping centre in the suburb of Chartwell.

She was the third victim of such a crime in less than two weeks.

On January 18, an 80-year-old woman was walking to a Fairfield shop to buy a newspaper when she was punched, knocked to the ground and suffered a broken hip.

The offender took off with her purse.