A TEENAGE girl screamed in terror when a bag-snatcher pounced on her mother as they walked hand in hand towards Bradford Cathedral on a Sunday afternoon.

Sean Walker had six previous convictions for robbery when he struck in the city centre on the afternoon of May 1, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Prosecutor Nicola Hoskins said that the mother and her daughter aged 15 were heading to the cathedral from Kirkgate at 2.30pm when Walker ran up and grabbed the woman’s bag.

She held on to it and there was a ‘tug of war’ but the child became so distraught that she let it go. Two members of the public were alerted to the girl’s screams and gave chase but he got away.

Walker, 34, of Maxwell Road, Buttershaw, Bradford, went on to use the woman’s bank card, getting £30 of goods from stores including Tesco on Canal Road in Bradford.

On May 20, he was caught leaving the Sports Direct store in Kirkgate wearing £55 worth of stolen items under his clothing.

Miss Hoskins said he pretended to have seen someone shoplifting in a bid to distract the security guards but they were suspicious of him. He was challenged when he was leaving the store after going into a changing room.

He had a visible price tag sticking out and he was detained after a struggle when trying to escape apprehension.

The court heard he had a stolen shirt and shorts on under his clothing and he was in possession of a pair of scissors.

He was bailed to attend at the magistrates’ court on June 15 but he didn’t turn up.

Walker was arrested and went on to plead guilty to robbery, bank card fraud, shoplifting and having the scissors for use in theft.

He had ten previous convictions for 15 offences, including the six robberies.

His barrister, Jayne Beckett, said he knew he was getting a long jail sentence. He had ‘really burnt bridges in the community’ and was desperate to know his fate.

He couldn’t attend courses in prison to address his offending behaviour while he was on remand, she told the court.

Deputy Circuit Judge Timothy Clayson adjourned the case until February 6 for the preparation of a probation report to look at the issue of dangerousness.

He pointed to Walker’s extensive list of previous robberies and said an extended sentence may need to be passed.