A man and a woman stalked a man through Huddersfield in the early hours before mugging him.
Now the man and a woman have both been jailed for robbing the man on his way home from a Huddersfield pub.
Judge Sally Cahill QC said it was a “particularly unpleasant offence” in the early hours of the morning having followed a perfectly innocent man after he left a public house.
“He was vulnerable since he was on his own and you targeted him.”
Leeds Crown Court heard the 60-year-old victim left the Boy and Barrel around 1am on April 27 after drinking two and a half pints.
He was walking home along Cloth Hall Street when he became aware of being followed by the pair, identified as 24-year-old Kyle Sweeting and 27-year-old Rebecca Marie Shelley.
James Weekes prosecuting told the court Shelley shouted to him asking for a cigarette but he told her he was smoking his last one.
He turned on to Market Street with them still following him and CCTV in Threadneedle Street captured the moment when he turned and asked them why they were following him.
He told them to leave him alone and carried on to the High Street and was going towards a subway crossing under the ring road when Sweeting approached and swung a punch in his face.
Mr Weekes said the victim went to the ground where he was restrained by Sweeting. One of them knelt on him while Shelley went through his pockets stealing a small amount of cash. His wrist watch was also pulled off breaking the strap before the pair walked off towards the centre.
Police were quickly on the scene and given descriptions of his attackers and the pair were stopped by officers soon after. The victim saw them from a police car and he was able to point them out.
Officers recovered £3.80 from Shelley and the watch was found on the ground nearby. The court heard Sweeting had a previous conviction for robbery last year.
Joanne Shepherd representing Sweeting said as a child he had witnessed the death of his mother at the hands of another person which had affected him ever since and led eventually to a “descent into alcoholism.”
Having been released from his last sentence he was effectively living on the streets and drinking up to six litres of cider a day. The offence that night was opportunistic.
Victoria Smith-Swain, for Shelley, said she had suffered drug problems in the past which had led to issues about the care of her children. She had only met Sweeting that night for the first time when she was upset and stressed and expressed remorse for what had happened.
Sweeting, of Leeds Road, Huddersfield was jailed for three years four months and Shelley, of Fanny Moor Lane, Lowerhouses, Huddersfield was jailed for two years six months after both admitted robbery. Each was ordered to pay a £900 criminal charge.
