A DANGEROUS criminal has admitted carrying out two violent robberies in Bradford on the same day.

In May 37-year-old drug user John Boyd was jailed for six years, with an extended licence period of two years, after he admitted a terrifying raid at the M & A Food and Wines convenience store on Buttershaw Lane.

During that robbery on April 6, Boyd was armed with a knife and a metal bar when he confronted shopkeeper Vipul Rana and demanded money from till.

Boyd, who had only been out of prison for a month, attacked Mr Rana with the bar causing a deep cut to his head and both men suffered cuts to their hands as the shopkeeper tried to wrestle the knife from the defendant.

Boyd managed to flee the shop with a tub containing about £1,000 from lottery ticket sales and he handed himself in to police a few days later.

The shop robbery took place at 9pm that day, but Bradford Crown Court was told that Boyd, who had been living at a hostel in Dewsbury, also raided the Southfield Lane Post Office in Bradford about five hours earlier.

Prosecutor John Bull said Boyd tried to disguise himself by wrapping a tee-shirt round his head when he went into the premises run by Anil and Ushaban Patel and demanded cash.

Mr Bull said Mrs Patel activated the panic alarm, but Boyd then used a table leg he was carrying to hit her on the head and shoulder.

“Her husband tried to intervene to protect her, but he was also assaulted,” said Mr Bull.

“In order to placate the defendant £15 was taken from the till and given to him by Mrs Patel but she refused to open another till which thought contain more cash.”

Boyd discarded the tee-shirt at the scene, but a partial DNA “hit” led to him being linked to the crime.

Mr Bull said the couple both needed hospital treatment for cuts to their heads following the robbery.

Boyd, who has served lengthy prison terms for serious offences in the past, was quizzed about the robbery a few days after being jailed for the shop raid, but he then answered no comment.

He finally admitted the post office raid although Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC heard that Boyd had no recollection of either incident.

At his previous sentence hearing the judge was told that Boyd was on drugs at the time of the shop raid and his lawyer Rachim Singh said his only mitigation for the post office offence was his guilty plea.

The judge said Boyd’s lack of recollection was a result of his “chaotic” lifestyle.

He was required to pass a new sentence for the post office robbery and told Boyd that a term of seven years and nine months would have to be imposed to run concurrently with the six year sentence.

A two-year extended licence period would also remain in force.