A MAN who subjected a woman to an "appalling" street robbery in Burnley has been sent to prison for over three and a half years.

A court heard that Paul Hudson's victim was left shocked, stunned and in tears by her ordeal. Afterwards she was unable to eat or sleep properly.

Hudson, 25, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty to robbery.

A judge passing sentence at Preston Crown Court praised the actions of two people who helped in the defendant's apprehension. One of them was a 13-year-old girl who chased him on foot.

The robbery victim, a 46-year-old woman, had her handbag snatched in Plumbe Street on March 20 this year.

In a victim impact statement she stated she was now a different person.

In a letter to the court Hudson expressed revulsion at his behaviour.

Judge Christopher Cornwall said the woman had been subjected to an "appalling experience".

Hudson was sentenced to three and a half years prison for the robbery, but first must serve around three months outstanding prison licence from an earlier sentence.