A man who threatened a woman with a knife and stole her handbag has been jailed.  

Alex Summerson, 42, of Piper Knowle Road in Stockton, has been sentenced to two year and eight months in prison sentence after robbing a woman in March.

He had approached the victim before threatening to stab and stealing her handbag, Cleveland Crown Court was told. 

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Cleveland Police attended the scene and found Summerson inside his flat close by, where they found the victim’s handbag hidden in a hole in his sofa.

Summerson pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a blade

A/Detective Inspector Carl Blenkinsop from Stockton CID said: “This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim to have gone through.

"Thankfully she was not injured but this has had a lasting impact on her.

“The victim was on her way to work when she was targeted by Summerson, and when officers attended the scene, she was extremely frightened.

“Summerson deserves to spend time in jail to pay for the crime he has committed. We hope the sentence provides some form of comfort to the victim knowing he is now behind bars.”