Knife robber meets victim
A WOMAN who was robbed at knifepoint visited her teenage attacker in prison to receive an apology from him as part of a restorative justice project.
Police offered Zoe Harrison the chance to meet Arron Burns, 18, at Lancaster Farms, to help her bring closure to her ordeal.
Zoe, 26, was walking in the Waterside area of Lancaster last November when Burns grabbed her, held a knife to her throat, then repeatedly punched her in the face before taking her phone and handbag.
She suffered a swollen nose and two black eyes.
Burns, formerly of Richmond Avenue, Lancaster, received 40 months' detention for the attack and another during which he robbed a man of his mobile phone near Millennium Bridge.
Zoe said: "I was not sure if I wanted to do it at first, but I
wasn't scared of him any more and I wanted to know why he
did it.
"I thought it would benefit me and other people too, because it might make him less likely to reoffend."
Zoe said she had felt better for venting her feelings and listening to his response.
"He told me about the things he has been reflecting on and that he was sorry and wouldn't do anything like this again."
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Weather for Lancaster
Saturday 04 February 2012
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