A WOMAN robber who was wrestled to the ground by witnesses to the crime was jailed for 18 months yesterday.

Kerry Graham, 26, snatched a woman's handbag at a pub car park in Middlesbrough and ran off.

But two men who saw the robbery gave chase. They caught Graham and held her on the ground until police arrived, said Richard Bennett, prosecuting.

Graham hid the bag inside her clothing where it was retrieved after her arrest.

When interviewed, Graham accused the two men of being the robbers. She had 37 previous convictions since 1998 mainly for shoplifting and she had breached punishment and probation orders.

She was in court for shoplifting only a month before the robbery, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Graham, of Brompton Street, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to the March 22 robbery, near the Cleveland Hotel, in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough.

Judge Michael Taylor told her: "This was an offence of robbery committed at night in the street. This is the first time you are going to serve a custodial sentence, and if you come back it will be longer than this."