A SHOPWORKER was mugged by two men wearing hoodies over their heads as she walked to work before dawn, she has told a jury.

Natalie Reeson, 23, alleged one of the men punched her twice in the face as she tried to stop the other pulling her bag off her shoulder and rifling through its contents.

She fell to the ground, dizzy, and as she recovered, she saw them running off across a field with £30 of her money.

The prosecution allege the man who punched her was Richard Smith, 33. He claims he was asleep in a caravan with his family at the time.

Smith, 33, of Outgang Lane Caravan Site, denies robbery.

Miss Reeson alleged she was walking towards ASDA’s Monks Cross superstore at about 6.40am on January 18 last year when she felt a tug on her shoulder bag.

She turned and saw the two men. She pulled her arm back and was punched full in the face. That caused her to lose her grip on her bag. The puncher struggled with her to stop her getting at his companion.

“He punched me again on the right hand side of my face, knocking me to the ground,” she said. “I felt an instance of dizziness and obviously my face was extremely sore at the time.”

The attack left her with teeth problems, cuts and bruises.

Earlier, opening the prosecution, Geraldine Kelly said Smith was arrested at a caravan site near Monks Cross on February 5 and declined to answer questions.

She alleged Miss Reeson picked Smith out of an ID parade on February 23 and that when he was reinterviewed on the same day, Smith gave a prepared statement in which he claimed he was asleep in a caravan on the day of the robbery until 10am.

The trial continues.