Man robbed elderly woman after prison release

A prolific thief has been jailed for robbing an elderly woman shortly after being released early from a prison sentence for a similar offence.

Daniel Bell targeted the 83-year-old when she was withdrawing cash at a supermarket in Selby on 6 August.

The 33-year-old, of no fixed abode, had already been sentenced in January for snatching an elderly woman's bag outside Marks & Spencer in York and knocking her to the ground.

After pleading guilty to robbery at an earlier hearing, Bell was sentenced to four years and four months in prison at York Crown Court on Wednesday.

The court heard that the victim and her daughter had been visiting the Tesco store at Portholme Road in Selby, when she went to the ATM to withdraw £200 just after 09:20 BST.

Judge Simon Hickey noted that she was "a cautious woman" who had checked her surroundings before using the machine.

She then described feeling a presence behind her before her left arm was grabbed by Bell, which left bruising on her wrist.

The victim lost her balance, but steadied herself on a trolley, as Bell snatched the money from her grasp.

A member of the public was alerted to the robbery by a shout from the victim and he followed Bell in his car.

After the defendant entered an address, the witness called the police and Bell was arrested shortly after on Selby swing bridge.

In a statement read to the court, the victim said the incident had left her "completely devastated" and scared to leave the house.

She added the crime was "relentlessly replaying" in her head "from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep".

The incident has also worsened the pain she felt from her arthritis in her hip, knee and spine, leaving her struggling to sleep.

The robbery came shortly after Bell had been released early from prison following another robbery conviction.

He was jailed in January after snatching a handbag from an 84-year-old woman outside Marks & Spencer on Pavement on 21 July 2025, knocking her to the ground and leaving her injured.

He was handed a sentence of three years and four months - but released on licence part-way through the term.

York Crown Court heard that Bell had 23 previous convictions from 64 offences, including driving offences, burglary, and carrying a knife.

Lily Wildman, defending, acknowledged his "unenviable record", but explained that he was a heroin addict in recovery, having had an addiction for most of his life.

Sentencing Bell, Judge Hickey said that the incident was a "serious offence, made worse by your record".

The member of the public who tracked Bell down was awarded £200.

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