Overview

• On August 21 last year at Chester Road Railway Station in Sutton Coldfield, Hughes covered his head with a coat, followed a man in his 60s, and tried to snatch his shoulder bag.
• He wrestled the victim to the floor, put him in a headlock, and punched him, but the man kept hold of his belongings and Hughes fled empty-handed.
• British Transport Police identified him using CCTV and probation records, then arrested him outside a probation appointment after he tried to run.
• Hughes, 33, from Erdington, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and on August 8 was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to four years and four months in prison with a £228 surcharge.
• Detective Constable Genna Chambers described the act as audacious and said the outcome should warn others considering offences on the rail network.