A 63-year-old Chippenham woman who robbed a butcher of £10 has been remanded in custody by a judge.

Salvia Mucha pleaded guilty to the offence when she appeared at Swindon Crown Court.

But after hearing the court may be asked to impose restrictions if she receives a sentence under the Mental Health Act a judge adjourned the case for further reports.

Mucha threatened a member of staff at Butler’s Butchers on Borough Parade, Chippenham, on Saturday, July 19, last year, demanding she be given the cash.

Recorder Maria Lamb said she had read a number of psychiatric reports with some recommending she impose a restriction order. If it were added to a hospital order it would mean doctors could impose restrictions on her when she is freed from treatment.

The judge said she was concerned that there had been references in the reports to the setting of fires in the past which had worried doctors.

Matthew Scott, defending, said she had never been convicted of arson and that a fire at her flat had been caused by an accident with a candle.

The court heard that Mucha, of Chelwood Close, Chippenham, is currently being detained for treatment in a hospital in Pontrypridd, south Wales.

Adjourning the case to Thursday, March 26, the judge said: "This is not a matter which I think can be rushed.

"On the face of it the court may well have to consider, not so much from what happened on July 19, but the general picture from antecedence and escalation and what is said about these fires, whether or not there is a danger of committing further offences if set at large."

She remanded Mucha back into custody to reside at the secure mental health unit.