A man convicted of partially blinding a 96-year-old war veteran on a Croydon tram is free to travel on the network.

Stephen Gordon walked free from court last week after being given a three-year supervision order for the attack on Shah Chaudury.

But in a move likely to anger community groups and residents alike Tramlink told the Croydon Guardian it would be too difficult to ban Gordon from using the tram network.

A spokesman said: "I think it is very unlikely that a ban would be put in place simply because it would be too difficult to police it."

Paranoid schizophrenic Stephen Gordon, 44, from Croydon, attacked Mr Chaudury on a tram travelling between Sandilands and East Croydon on December 14 last year.

During his trial, the court was told Gordon had tried to push past the pensioner, who was standing in the aisle leaning on his walking sticks.

Gordon tried to walk under the elderly man's arms to get by and his hat came off. He lashed out at the veteran, calling him a "bastard" and punching him in the face.

The victim's son Mohammed Chaudury is outraged at the sentence his dad's attacker received.

He said: "The man should be in prison. He should not be walking free with a smile on his face."

Mr Chaudury said his dad's health has deteriorated and he now requires full-time care after suffering a stroke.

He added: "I'm gutted. My dad was a harmless pensioner who never hurt anyone in his life. He was just minding his own business and gets punched in the eye.

"He's lost all his confidence. He used to be active, he used to go out every day for lunch, shopping. He can't do that now."

Stuart Routledge, chief officer of Age Concern Croydon, said: "The attack on Shah Chaudhry and the injuries he sustained as a result were shocking and appalling."

He added: "Though Croydon's older people will feel fearful as a result of this kind of attack, we ask them to remember that these crimes are not as common as people think. Older people are less likely than any other age group to become a victim of violent crime."

What do you think? Should Gordon be banned from the tram network? Post your comments below.