A man has been jailed for three years after he grabbed a woman and stole her bag in Farnborough.

Lee Morris, 46, of Chaucer Road, Farnborough, grabbed the woman and pulled her towards a bush on Prospect Road just before 7am on Friday 10 October.

He then stole her bag and fled the scene. The woman, who is aged in her 20s, ran home and was thankfully not injured.

Officers launched an investigation and carried out various enquiries including trawling CCTV footage from nearby streets.

They also seized the victim’s coat, which she was wearing during the incident, and carried out a forensic examination.

A sample was taken from the coat, and it was a match for Morris. He was later arrested and charged with robbery.

He pleaded guilty to the offence and was jailed for a total of three years at Winchester Crown Court on Monday 24 November.

Detective Constable Jonathan Heasman, from Hart and Rushmoor CID, said: “This was a frightening incident for the victim and understandably it has had a huge impact on her life.

“She was simply walking to work that morning when Morris grabbed her. His appalling actions terrified her, and no one should have to feel frightened and scared in our community.

“Our officers carried out a thorough investigation and were able to charge Morris thanks to forensic work. I hope the woman can try to move on from this incident now she knows that Morris will spend a considerable amount of time in prison for what he did to her.”

DC Heasman added: “Today is also White Ribbon Day (25 November), which is one of the largest global initiatives to end male violence against women.

“Violence, intimidation and harassment of any kind towards women and girls is not acceptable in any form and I hope this result shows we take all reports of this nature extremely seriously.”