A MAN who snatched cash from a punter who was leaving a Chippenham betting shop has been jailed for 14 months.

Levy Graham had been due to face trial after pleading not guilty to robbery. But the case was brought back before the court where prosecutors said they would accept pleas to theft and assault.

The 33-year-old grabbed the man's winnings as he left Megabet on The Bridge, Chippenham, on March 20 last year. He claimed he had not used violence to take the money but had assaulted the victim following the theft.

Graham, of Dover Street, Chippenham, pleaded guilty to theft and common assault.

The court heard that he was jailed for robbery in 2002 and got a suspended sentence in 2014 for supplying class A drugs.

He was also convicted of theft in April and May last year and the day after cash snatch was caught travelling on a train without a ticket.

Francesca Anderson, defending, said he was trying to change his ways and urged the court not to jail him.

Passing sentence Judge Robert Pawson "You said it was on the spur of the moment: I have watched the CCTV, I don't accept that.

"I am told by Miss Anderson that you have turned your life around, or are in the process of doing so."

He said a probation officer had told him that he had failed to comply with earlier orders for other offending.

"In January this year she saw you to prepare a pre-sentence report. She wanted to assess you for a drug rehabilitation requirement.

"You didn't want it, you were going to sort it yourself. You received unpaid work. You haven't done any because you say you can't.

"You only attended two appointments with probation. You appear to be erecting barriers.

"You are in work, doing up a shop. It sits uneasily with the suggestion that you are unable to do unpaid work."