SHOPPERS gave chase as a bag snatcher attempted to flee from a store car park, a court heard.

Kenneth Stephen Ashurst prised the bag from the grasp of a 51-year-old woman, dragging her along the ground before the strap snapped, at the Arnison Centre in Durham.

Ashurst, 28, jumped into a car driven by his friend, 25-year-old Mark Taylor, who then attempted to flee the scene, outside the Sainsbury's store.

But Durham Crown Court was told that a witness, who saw the bag snatch, chased the car and threw a traffic cone, shattering the windscreen, while another man hurled a hammer at the bonnet.

Chris Williamson, prosecuting, said that despite the damage, the Renault made off northwards on the A167, but a police patrol car was in pursuit by the time it reached Chester-le-Street. Taylor eventually pulled up in Albert Street, Chester-le-Street, where he and Ashurst were arrested and the handbag was recovered, minus £7 in cash.

Mr Williamson said that the victim was treated in hospital for a number of superficial scratches and cuts.

The court was told that Ashurst and Taylor were both heroin abusers, the former only released from a previous prison sentence four days before the incident in June.

Ashurst, of no fixed abode, admitted robbery and was jailed for 30 months, with a month outstanding from the previous prison term added to the sentence.

Taylor, of Wheldon Terrace, Pelton, admitted aiding and abetting robbery and was given an 18-month sentence.