The case against a 21-year-old woman who was jointly accused of robbing and murdering a pensioner who died after she was allegedly mugged for a £2 fish supper has been dropped, police said today.

The Crown Prosecution Service has discontinued the case against Denise Thompson, of Rothbury Terrace, Heaton, Newcastle.

She had already appeared in court in connection with the death of 77-year-old Marie Watson.

The charges of murder and robbery remain against 19-year-old Trevor Cook of the YMCA, Clayton Road, Jesmond, Newcastle.

Mrs Watson, a partially-sighted great-grandmother, died in April after she was allegedly attacked on her way home from her local chip shop.

A Northumbria Police spokesman today said inquiries into the incident were continuing.