SHOP assistant Dorothy Wells has slammed the sentence passed on a man who attacked her in a fit of shop rage.

The Weymouth grandmother has spoken of her anger that Anthony Jones, 21, was given a four-month curfew order by magistrates.

During this time he will have to wear an electronic tag and stay at home between the hours of 9pm and 6am.

Mrs Wells, 67, was serving behind the counter at newsagents The Bon-Bon in Queen Street when drunken Jones pushed her into a shelf of bottles leaving her barely able to move for two weeks. She said: "I think he got off lightly because it was an horrific attack.

"A curfew isn't relevant because this happened at 4pm in the afternoon. He is free to come and go as he pleases.

"I couldn't stand up or sit down afterwards - I was in agony. I had to take 14 painkillers a day for two weeks and still have twinges in my back."

Weymouth magistrates also ordered Jones to pay Mrs Wells £250 in compensation which she welcomed but added: "He deserves that for what he did to me."

The court earlier heard Jones - who suffers from a form of autism called Asperger's syndrome - of Dorchester Road in Weymouth plead guilty to assault by beating on July 9.

Conrad Lakeman, prosecuting, said Jones became aggressive after Mrs Wells asked him for proof of age when he attempted to buy alcohol.

He said: "He started shouting and swearing at her and she declined to serve him.

"He pushed her backwards into the shelves and she received cuts to her back and felt pain in her back and hips.

In mitigation, David Coombe said Jones felt remorse about the 'unpleasant and nasty incident' and had written a letter of apology to Mrs Wells - which was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service on July 16.

Mrs Wells - who has just returned to work after three week's sick leave - said she had not yet received the note but it would mean 'nothing' to her.

Speaking outside the court, Jones' support worker Kim Rosling said: "Anthony produced his identification and believed he had done everything right so the moment the lady refused him, he became frustrated."

Jones also pleaded guilty to possessing £10 worth of cannabis but was given no separate penalty.