The teenager who mugged Katherine Jenkins has pleaded guilty to robbery and assaulting a police officer.

Katherine Jenkins

Katherine Jenkins

Last month, the 39-year-old singer was mugged when she stepped in to intervene after she saw two teens trying to rob an elderly woman in south-west London, and now, one of the youngsters involved in the robbery has pleaded guilty and offered to apologise to Katherine.

The 15 year old - who cannot be named for legal reasons - has admitted robbery and assaulting a police officer following the attack, and said in court she is willing to say sorry for stealing Katherine's phone.

Speaking during her hearing at Highbury Magistrates' Court, she said: "I could apologise. I know that's not going to make up for what I did."

Katherine's phone was later recovered, but the screen had been cracked, and prosecutors say there had been a "clumsy attempt to remove the sim card".

The teenager has been handed a six month referral order, meaning she will have to attend sessions with the youth offending team to address her behaviour, and her mother was also ordered to pay £20 compensation.

District Judge Williams told the girl: "If you were 18 and not 15 and you committed that offence you would be sent to a young offender's institution and locked up for several years.

"It a real shock when you get mugged. It has happened to me and it has happened to this lady. It happens an awful lot in the streets of this city."

At the time of the incident, Katherine was making her way to the Henry Van Straubenzee Memorial charity carol service at St Luke's Church in London, and despite the shock of the mugging, she still attended the event because she "didn't want to let the charity down".

The annual Henry van Straubenzee Christmas Carol concert is hosted by the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund, which donates to schools in Africa.

It is dedicated to the memory of Henry van Straubenzee, a friend of Prince William and Prince Harry, who died in a car crash in 2002 when he was 18 years old.


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