A PROLIFIC offender is back behind bars after he tried to mug a man who had just withdrawn £60 from a cash machine in Bradford city centre.

Matthew Judson, 34, was still on prison licence when he spotted his victim taking cash from an ATM near to the John Street market last month.

Prosecutor Philip Adams told Bradford Crown Court yesterday that Judson had been hanging around in the vicinity of the cash machine on the afternoon of September 16 and followed his victim into the public toilets.

He described how Judson approached from behind as the man was standing at a urinal and punched him in the face.

“He began to search the victim’s pockets while he was lying on the floor, but he didn’t manage to take any money,” said Mr Adams.

When other members of the public heard the man’cs screams for help they came into the toilets and Judson fled the scene.

Mr Adams said the complainant suffered bruising and a cut to the face, but he did not require any medical treatment.

Judson was identified from CCTV footage by a police officer and he was arrested a few days later.

At an earlier crown court hearing Judson, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and Mr Adams outlined details of his previous convictions which included over 30 offences.

In 2004 Judson was jailed for 42 months for attempted robbery and locked up for three years in 2007 for two more robberies and an allegation of theft from the person.

Mr Adams said Judson also had convictions for theft from the person in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and he was jailed for five years in 2011 for four robberies.

In 2014 Judson received a six-year jail term, with an extended licence period of three years, for robbery again and he was on licence from that sentence when he attacked the man last month.

Judson took part in today’s hearing via a video link to the prison were he is currently recalled for breaching his licence and Judge Jonathan Gibson was told that he was not due to be released until June 2023.

Jailing him again for 31 months from today Judge Gibson said the attempted robbery was substantially aggravated by Judson’s previous convictions, but he had to give him 25 per cent credit because of his guilty plea.