A DISABLED grandmother was butchered with two knives and a pair of scissors for a handful of coins.

Ann Alfanso, 63, suffered 97 wounds to the head, neck, body and hands when she was attacked by a drug-crazed robber from the same block of flats.

John Mansfield, who had taken a cocktail of cocaine, morphine, methadone and `rogue' heroin, dragged Mrs Alfanso round her flat while searching for cash.

But he then left her for dead and escaped with just a few coins stolen from a money box beside her phone.

Police were alerted when Mrs Alfanso's body was discovered by her home help. They traced Mansfield by a trail of blood leading to his flat in the same block.

Now he is starting a life jail term after admitting murder. A judge at Manchester Crown Court told him he must serve at least 25 years before he can be considered for release.

Mansfield, 45, of May Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, was told by Mr Justice Ouseley: "Under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and in particular heroin which was probably contaminated, you went to the flat of Mrs Alfanso, who lived alone.

"She was a vulnerable woman, who had a home help. She found difficulty in walking and had a long medical history."

The judge said Mansfield's motive for the attack was robbery so he could get money for more drugs.

"But there was an intense and frenzied attack on her, when she received 97 wounds, and I am entirely satisfied that you intended to kill," he said.

Mrs Alfanso was frail, lived alone and suffered from hypertension and breathing problems, while Mansfield was a `hopeless addict'.

On the day of the murder, after taking a cocktail of drugs including heroin contaminated with another drug, he went to her flat to rob her.

Prosecutor Michael Shorrock QC said Mrs Alfanso's bloodstained body was found on the bedroom floor of her ransacked flat by her home help. She had multiple stab wounds, including one which went right through her hand as she tried to defend herself.

She might also have been kicked or punched.

Mansfield, who had a string of previous convictions for offences including robbery, eventually admitted the killing to detectives but said he could not remember exactly what happened because of his drug-induced state.

In court, victim impact statements from two of Mrs Alfanso's distraught daughters were read to the judge.

Delphins Alfanso said: "I have lost a friend who was very good to her grandson. I think my life has been turned upside down. I feel ill and still have a lot of flashbacks."

"I just keep thinking, `Why my mum?'."

Her younger sister Asha said: "I keep waking up at night and have been having nightmares."