A 33-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for two years after stealing more than £100 from a till of a Bradford hairdressers, following a physical struggle with the female owner.

Darren Fellows, of Daisy Street, Great Horton, pleaded guilty to one charge of robbery after he stole from the till of Talking Heads, Great Horton Road.

Fellows, who did not wear a disguise during the raid, took £140 cash from the till.

But salon owner Carol Marley spotted Fellows and confronted him.

A struggle then took place between them and Mrs Marley was pushed into a glass cabinet in the shop and suffered a cut to her right finger.

He managed to escape the shop and Mrs Marley's daughter, Emily, who works at the salon as a beauty therapist, was alerted and gave chase.

However, Fellows managed to get away and the money has never been recovered. He was subsequently arrested on February 2 this year.

The incident took place at around 3pm on January 29 this year.

Bradford Crown Court heard Fellows has 47 previous convictions against him for 113 offences. These date back to 1992 and include convictions for robbery in 1995, 1997 and 2003.

Clare Benson, prosecuting, said: "Fellows said to Mrs Marley 'get off, otherwise I'll stab you'.

"Mrs Marley shouted for her daughter Emily, who gave chase.

"He was also shoplifting throughout 2013."

Ian Hudson, mitigating, said: "The defendant was not wearing a disguise but did attempt to cover his face up.

"The injuries are minimal in this case and Mrs Marley wanted to get her money back. The threat was serious.

"He has similar offences but many years ago. The struggle lasted for one to two minutes."

His Honour Judge Colin Burn told Fellows: "This was a very shocking and unpleasant incident for Mrs Marley.

"It must have been a shock and a frightening experience. There was a struggle. Mrs Marley showed admirable courage in trying to stop this theft from taking place.

"This is the latest in a long line of offences you have committed over the years.

Speaking after the verdict, Mrs Marley says she just instinctively reacted when she spotted Fellows escaping with her shop's cash takings.

She said: "I was just annoyed. I thought 'How dare you come into my shop'.

"He thought he could come in and take what he wanted.

"I grabbed him and put him in a bear hug. I did not think anything at the time. I just reacted. He shouted get off me.

"I just lost my grip and he ran off outside."