A MAN on licence after his release from prison for robbery carried out a late-night street mugging of a teenager who had just used a cash machine, a court was told.

Steven Cooper emerged from a darkened alley way, ‘The Black Path’, as the 18-year-old man made his way from the atm, alongside McColl’s store, in Darlington Lane, Durham Road, Stockton, at 10.30pm on January 2.

Durham Crown Court heard that Cooper approached the teenager, who had withdrawn £10, which he placed into his wallet and into a bag he was carrying.

Nigel Soppitt, prosecuting, said Cooper grabbed at the bag and demanded the wallet, which the teenager initially refused to hand over.

Cooper produced from a pocket a foldable metallic stick, extending to 18in, and waved it menacingly.

Mr Soppitt said Cooper shouted: “Pass me the money or I’ll smash you,” and the teenager, fearing he would be hit, let go of the bag.

He went home and told his mother what happened. She drove to the scene and saw a man answering her son’s description of the robber, with a female in a yellow jacket.

The mother summoned help, but Cooper disappeared before help came to hand.

Mr Soppitt said the following lunch-time the robbery victim’s mother returned to The Black Path, where she saw the same couple and approached them, asking the male if he was the robber.

Following a verbal exchange, Cooper said: “Leave me alone” and walked away.

The angry mother took his photograph and informed police, before recovering her son’s abandoned wallet and damaged bank card.

Mr Soppitt said based on the photograph Cooper was arrested in a nearby pub and the robbery victim’s keys were found in his pocket.

He made no comment to police questions and denied a charge of robbery.

The 28-year-old, of Mallaig View, Stockton, claimed it was mistaken identity, claiming he was elsewhere in the town at the time.

But, following a two-day trial, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.

The court heard Cooper’s previous offences include two knifepoint robberies, for which he received a four-year prison sentence, in 2016.

Imposing a 42-month prison sentence for his latest crime, Recorder Joanne Kidd said people should be free to use cash machines without fearing the likes of Cooper, “skulking about” in darkened alleyways, waiting to relieve them of their money.