A handbag snatcher branded the Beast of Clayton by terrified locals has finally been jailed for four years.

Bradford Crown Court heard how Christopher Ingall targeted vulnerable women living in one area of Bradford as they returned home from playing bingo.

The 36-year-old attacked five women, including three pensioners, during a three-week campaign in Clayton - which is thought to have been sparked by his need for money.

He should have attended court in August 1997 after admitting the offences when detectives arrested him on suspicion of stealing a video from his mother. But Ingall panicked and went on the run, first to Leicester and then to Spain, the French Alps and Switzerland.

Not long after the attacks detectives discovered he had been claiming benefit in Leicester and traced him to a local hostel.

When police arrived he had already left for Europe. He returned to Leicester last month and detectives arrested him.

Yesterday Ingall, of no fixed abode, was sentenced by Judge Roger Scott after admitting four offences of robbery. He also asked for a fifth robbery to be taken into consideration along with three offences of burglary.

Prosecutor Edward Bindloss said the first handbag snatch in March 1997 involved 77-year-old Phyllis Lowe, who was attacked as she returned home after a night at the bingo.

After getting off a bus, the pensioner, who is blind in one eye and has two artificial hips, was just about to open her front door when Ingall grabbed her bag from behind.

She was pushed to the floor and hit her head on a concrete step. Blood blurred the vision in her good eye and Ingall grabbed hold of the handbag.

The pensioner spent six days in Bradford Royal Infirmary after suffering a fractured cheekbone and having 30 stitches in her face.

The next day Ingall committed an almost identical offence on an elderly woman as she walked down a snicket. She also needed stitches in a cut and suffered bruising to her face.

The following month he carried out three more attacks on women, but in one of them got away with just 40p. During the police inquiry a suspect was picked out on an identification parade by one of the women.

Detective Constable David Quilter said: "We were very uneasy about who was responsible. The man was remanded in custody for a week and we continued our inquiries.

"When we questioned Ingall about the burglary he said he'd read about the arrest in the Telegraph & Argus and confessed to the robberies on the women."

The court heard Ingall broke down and cried during his interview and expressed remorse for what he had done.

Det Con Quilter said: "Had he not been arrested Ingall would have continued committing the same type of offences with, no doubt, tragic consequences."

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