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A crook has been jailed for targeting and robbing a vulnerable pensioner just moments after the victim withdrew a large amount of money from the bank.

Paul Clark, 58, who has a long criminal record, followed the 74-year-old man into a public toilet in Middleton Grange shopping centre and grabbed at least £320 from his pocket.

Teesside Crown Court heard the victim was in the habit of going to the cash machine on a daily basis.

Clark followed him into the men’s toilets inside the shopping centre shortly after the victim had been to the Halifax bank at around 12.30pm on July 26.

Paul Clark (inset) has been jailed for robbing a vulnerable pensioner at Hartlepool's Middleton Grange shopping centre.

Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said: “He was followed into those toilets by the defendant who purported to be a security guard and accused or suggested that the victim must have been shoplifting and in effect patted him down and searched his pockets and withdrew a handful of notes from him.”

The victim immediately reported the robbery and Clark was arrested at an address in Derby Street after police recognised him from CCTV.

He had £1,880 in £20 notes on him at the time. The victim was unable to say how much money he had on him during the robbery although Clark confessed to taking £320.

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Paul Clark has a lengthy record spanning around 40 years.

When police asked the victim how he felt about what had happened, he said: “Absolutely terrified.”

He said he didn’t know what was going to happen adding: “I thought I could lose my life or anything.”

Clark’s record goes back about 40 years and includes 81 offences for crimes including house burglary, drugs, fraud and dishonesty.

But this was his first robbery conviction.

Stephen Constantine, defending, disputed that Clark said he was a security guard, adding: “There’s no violence.

"There’s no immediate threat that he’s going to do anything at all to him.”

Mr Constantine said Clark could not explain why he committed the robbery although he said Clark's head was “all over the place” at the time and he was living in a tent at Summerhill.

Jailing Clark, of Lewis Grove, Hartlepool, for three years, Recorder Jeremy Barnett said: "He says he was frightened for his life.

“This is a classic case of deliberate targeting of a vulnerable victim.”

He was also ordered to pay £750 compensation to the victim.

Hartlepool crook 'pretended to be security guard' to rob vulnerable man, 74, in shopping centre toilets