A MAN with learning difficulties was punched in the face and threatened with an attack dog for JUST �10.

The lowlife mugger used his Staffordshire Bull Terrier to frighten the vulnerable 55-year-old as he walked along Lemsford Road in Hatfield.

Dressed in dark clothes and a woolly hat, the attacker asked Rob Palmer if he had a cigarette.

Non-smoking Mr Palmer, who suffers from emphysema, told the man he couldn’t oblige and they both walked on.

Mr Palmer said: “He came back in front of me and said ‘Give me some money’.

“I told him I can’t afford it and he punched me in the side of the nose.”

Spectacle-wearing Mr Palmer was shaken and terrified when the cruel thug issued his next threat.

“He said ‘That’s just a warning things are going to get more serious.”

Scared and alone in the dimly-lit area of Hatfield Mr Palmer reluctantly gave over all he had and as the thief ran off, he walked home the long way in case he was being watched.

Mr Palmer, who has carers to help him at home and is a member of Hatfield Social Club, is an avid reader of the WHT.

He contacted the paper in a bid to catch his attacker and to warn others to be careful too.

He said: “I was born and bred in Hatfield and it has never been as bad as it has at the moment.

“It makes you very worried.”