Thief gets stuck in a lift with his victim

The terror felt by an elderly woman cornered in a lift by a mugger was only heightened when the door closed behind him.

CCTV footage in Lauderlake Lakes, Florida, last week showed a burly man cornering 77-year-old Loraine Bain inside a lift.

The thief holds a finger to his mouth to tell Ms Bain to be silent, before pulling out a serrated knife and grabbing her handbag.

But as he moves to leave the lift, the door closes, leaving the crook and his victim trapped in the tiny compartment.

He then makes the most of his time by sorting through the handbag as he waits for the door to reopen.

Ms Bain is now thinking about leaving the area altogether after the frightening encounter.

"It's unfortunate, but I no longer feel that this is a good place for me," she told the Sun-Sentinel.

"I'm going to have to have a building with more security."

The robber left with about $35 in cash as well as her mobile phone.