A mugger who slashed a man with a cut-throat razor after he chased him through the streets of Bradford has been warned he faces a long jail sentence.

William Meskiri struck out with the weapon during a struggle with brave Leslie Hayton, pictured, who witnessed him snatching a woman's purse in the city centre.

Mr Hayton cornered Meskiri - who was later injured while jumping over a 60ft drop while being chased by police - and was cut across the face, inches from a major vein.

Although Meskiri, 29, escaped, he was tracked down three years later by detectives using DNA from a watch he dropped at the scene.

Yesterday at Bradford Crown Court, Meskiri admitted robbery and malicious wounding.

Sentencing was adjourn-ed but Judge Roger Scott told him: "The overwhelming probability is that you will be locked up for quite a long time even though you are not very well."

Meskiri, of Harewood Street, Barkerend, struck on October 12, 2000, when he targeted teacher Jill Evans as she walked out of a Bradford bank with her two young children.

He snatched Mrs Evans's purse from her hand, breaking her thumb, before sprinting away.

Hearing her cries for help, electrician Mr Hayton gave chase along a steep alleyway by Ivegate, cornering Meskiri in a yard around 300 metres away.

Yesterday after the case Mr Hayton, 46 - who has since received two bravery awards - said: "I could see the blade flashing very close to my eyes and was literally dancing about trying to avoid it."

At one point in the struggle Meskiri bit him on the nose and face.

Mr Hayton said he had since moved out of the area and still suffered painful memories. But he said: "There is no doubt that I would do it again in the same situation."

He praised the police for tracking down Meskiri.

Detective Inspector Chris Binns, who led the case, explained that the file had been passed to three separate officers because each of them had been promoted.

"We had a partial DNA profile from the watch which the suspect dropped during the struggle," said Det Insp Binns.

"Basically that meant that we could not feed it into the computer system which would come up with the match - we had to put specific names forward to be checked."

During a three-year period, around 300 profiles were examined without success.

After the case returned to Det Insp Binns, he said: "I was very reluctant to file it as unsolved because of the serious nature of the crime."

He examined the records of everyone arrested in Bradford city centre in the month before the attack, searching for a grey jacket which witnesses described the attacker wearing. It turned out to be the clue which led them to Meskiri.

Det Insp Binns said he had "nothing but praise" for Mr Hayton.