A ROBBER who attacked a vulnerable man with learning difficulties for £10 after he tried to force him to buy stolen pet toys was jailed.

Jason Beddoe, aged 37, tried to palm off the goods he had just shoplifted from the Animal Magic store in Ebbw Vale on his victim.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how the robbery took place because he was desperate for money to buy alcohol or drugs.

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Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins told how the defendant walked into the pet shop on Tuesday, April 23, and took goods worth £20-30 without paying.

Beddoe then tried to sell the toys to his victim and followed him into the Post Office on Bethcar Street.

Miss Smith-Higgins said the defendant continued to pester the complainant who told him he didn’t want to buy them.

After the man left the Post Office, Beddoe attacked him, dragging him up some stairs nearby and striking him to the face before robbing him of £10.

The prosecutor said: “The complainant was too frightened to stop him.”

She told the court that Beddoe had 42 previous convictions for 93 offences, including theft, burglary and criminal damage.

The defendant, of Moorland Road, Hilltop, Ebbw Vale, admitted robbery and theft.

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Stephen Thomas, representing Beddoe, said: “His best mitigation is his guilty plea. He is genuinely sorry for the harm he has caused his victim and is genuinely remorseful.

“There were no weapons used or threats with a knife but he accepts it was an extremely distressing incident for the complainant.

“It was a desperate attempt to get money to buy alcohol or drugs. He tells me he has little recollection of this incident.”

Mr Thomas added: “The defendant was in a downward spiral of drink and drugs at the time – a familiar tale.”

Judge David Wynn Morgan told Beddoe: “I am satisfied you targeted your vulnerable victim. You restrained him. You detained him. And then you assaulted him.”

The defendant was jailed for 16 months for the robbery and a consecutive term of two months for the theft, making a combined sentence of 18 months.

Beddoe was also made the subject of a three-year restraining order not to contact his victim and must pay a surcharge.