An 81-year-old man strangled an elderly woman in a botched robbery after trying to raise money for his own funeral following a terminal cancer diagnosis, a court heard today.

Edwin Morrison posed as a council worker before barging his way into the 95-year-old’s home, tying her up and demanding cash. 

Terrified victim Mary Morgan told how ‘all hell broke loose’ as the ‘madman’ left her ‘gasping for breath’, adding: ‘I thought it was the end for me.’

But by chance her hairdresser arrived for her weekly appointment and disturbed Morrison in the middle of his attack, and he was forced to flee empty-handed.

Today a court was told his motivation for the attack had been ‘altruistic rather than malicious’, and came after a failed attempt to pay for his funeral by crowdfunding. 

Morrison, then 80, was seen ‘scoping’ out addresses in the Little Hulton area of Salford on the morning of January 27, Manchester Crown Court heard.

He knew some of the homes as he used to work as a courier delivering medications for a pharmacy, said Rob Smith, prosecuting.

He told the pensioner that he wanted to discuss bin collections being changed to a different day before going inside.

Edwin Morrison, 81, admitted attempted robbery over the attack in which a 95-year-old woman was strangled and tied up

Mary Morgan, 95, said Edwin Morrison left her ‘gasping for breath’ in the attack, adding : ‘I thought it was the end for me.’

Morrison then ‘put his hands round her throat’ and demanded: ‘Give me your money.’

He used cable ties to bind Mrs Morgan’s hands together, and when she complained they were too tight, he told her: ‘Shut up! Where’s your purse?’

However the elderly robber was disturbed by a hairdresser who arrived at Mrs Morgan’s address for her weekly appointment.

She initially thought he was a friend of the victim and assumed it was a ‘joke’ when Mrs Morgan shouted: ‘Get the police.’

It was only when Mrs Morgan showed how her hands tied together that she attempted to raise the alarm, the court heard, prompting Morrison to try to ‘trap’ both women in the house.

But the hairdresser was able to shut a glass door behind Morrison and phone police.

Morrison then fled in his car but was traced to his home address and later arrested, telling officers: ‘I did it.’

Morrison (pictured) was driven by motivation which was ‘altruistic rather than malicious’, his barrister told a court

Victim Mary Morgan (pictured) has been left feeling ‘unsafe in my own home’, she said

Earlier, the court heard how Morrison had been diagnosed with untreatable renal cancer in late 2024 and had also developed serous cardiac issues.

He had set up a GoFundMe Page to raise money for his funeral costs, without success.

Morrison was also a regular gambler and would bet between £50 and £80 each time, Mr Smith said, but he denied being in debt.

In a victim personal statement, Mrs Morgan said the incident had caused a loss of confidence and she was now more ‘anxious, confused and forgetful’.

‘I feel unsafe in my own home,’ she said.

‘I’m like a prisoner and I can’t go outside.’

She added: ‘I thought I was going to die that day and thank my hairdresser for coming in and disturbing him.’

Morrison, of Worsley, admitted one charge of attempted robbery at an earlier hearing.

Nick Clarke, defending, admitted Morrison was a ‘gambler’ but he said he wasn’t ‘looking to steal money to repay a debt’.

He said Morrison’s life had been on a downward spiral since he spit from his previous partner and he was forced to quit work at the age of 75, causing a decline in his physical health.

Morrison had also been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and an enlarged prostate.

Depression also led to him wanting to take his own life and he had stopped eating at one point.

Morrison hadn’t wanted to be a ‘burden’ on his family, Mr Clarke said, and didn’t want them having to pay the costs of his funeral after his ‘unsuccessful’ online fundraising attempt.

He said Morrison had committed the attempted robbery for ‘selfish’ and ‘self-centred’ reasons but he was ‘remorseful’.

‘He’s someone who expects to die in prison,’ Mr Clarke added.

‘His motivation was altruistic rather than malicious.’

Morrison will be sentenced on April 15.

Speaking afterwards, Mrs Morgan said Morrison had behaved ‘like a madman’.

‘He said he was from the council and it was about the bins and they were changing it from a Tuesday collection to a Thursday.

‘In the next breath, he said “Shall we go and have a chat” and he came past me.

‘The next thing all hell broke loose and he got my throat and I’m gasping for breath.

‘I said, to him: “Let me breath, I can’t breathe.”

‘But he said: “Where’s your money?” He was like a madman.

‘It was awful.’

She added: ‘I thought it was the end for me.’