South Yorkshire mugger made knife threat to stop his victim beating him up

Michael Chambers approached the man on Doncaster Road, Barnsley, on March 25, 2019, asking for £1, but when his wallet was produced, Chambers punched him in the face, grabbed it and ran.

His victim punched him back and a fight ensued, with Chambers biting him on the arm, prosecutor Zaiban Alam said on Thursday.

When Chambers fled, his victim chased him and Chambers said to an accomplice: "Pass me the knife."

Ms Alam said this was an "empty threat to stop the fighting so he could get away."

The wallet was recovered, with £30 missing, and police also found a bag nearby that contained some of Chambers' clothing as well as his bloodstains on his victim's jacket.

He was arrested on May 15 and identified by the man he mugged a week later.

The court heard he has previous convictions for shop theft, threatening behaviour and two counts of battery.

Richard Canning, mitigating, said delays to his case meant Chambers had been in custody for some time and faced harsher conditions than usual because of the lockdown.

Chambers, 26, of Race Street, Barnsley, pleaded guilty to robbery.

Judge Graham Reeds QC told him that during the scuffle “you were getting the worst of it.”

Chambers was sentenced to 21 months, reduced from the 33 months his co-defendant received to reflect the tougher prison environment.