Worksop man jailed over alleyway robbery

A robber who targeted a woman in an alleyway in Worksop as she walked alone at night has been jailed.

Christopher Rogers followed his victim on the opposite side of the road as she entered an alleyway off Memorial Avenue at around 11.30pm, on 8 February.

He approached her from behind before grabbing hold of her handbag.

During the struggle that followed she was dragged along the floor and kicked before Rogers fled with items from the handbag which had spilled onto the floor.

The victim was able to call 999 and police arrived at the scene within minutes.

Rogers was identified as a suspect when detectives trawled through CCTV from the surrounding area and were able to trace his movements.

When he was arrested, Rogers was in bed and wearing the same white Aberdeen FC football shirt he had carried out the robbery in.

A pair of trainers and jogging bottoms matching those he was seen wearing on CCTV footage of the incident were also found in his washing machine.

During interviews with detectives Rogers denied committing the offence and said ‘it’s not my style’.

However, the 40-year-old, of Bridge Street, Worksop, pleaded guilty to robbery when presented with the case against him at court.

He was jailed for three years and nine months at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday.

Detective Constable James Lawrence, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

“This was a nasty attack in which a woman walking alone at night was targeted.

“Rogers followed the victim through Worksop and took an opportunity to attack her when she entered the darkness of the alleyway.

“She was understandably left extremely frightened by the ordeal Rogers subjected her to – simply so he could steal whatever was in her handbag.

“We are full of gratitude to the victim, who despite her ordeal was able to provide a thorough account of what had happened to support our investigation.

“Many hours of detective work followed, allowing us to build a watertight case against Rogers which, despite his initial denials, left him with no option but to plead guilty.

“I hope the victim is comforted by our investigation and the sentence handed down.”

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