A man who snatched money from two people including an elderly man as they used a cash point in Slough has escaped prison.

Jakub Kalecinski, 22, of no fixed address was sentenced at Slough Magistrates’ Court yesterday

At around 11.20am on Tuesday a 55-year-old Slough man was withdrawing £100 from a cash point outside Tesco Extra, Brunel Way, Slough, when Kalecinski approached him and snatched the cash before making off.

Following an area search, the 22-year-old was arrested and cautioned for theft after he admitted the offence.

The following day - just eight hours after being cautioned, Kalecinski did exactly the same thing at around 10.20am. This time the victim was an 81-year-old man from Slough who withdrew £40.

Kalecinski was again arrested and charged with theft.

He was remanded in custody overnight and appeared at Slough Magistrates’ Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to the offence and was given an eight week prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

Magistrates ordered him to do 100 hours unpaid work as well as 15 hours of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR).

Investigating officer, PC Ryan Powell from Local CID Slough said: “Kalecinski completely ignored the fact that he had received a caution by police as he went onto commit another offence within eight hours.

“I hope that the today’s sentence will deter him from reoffending or else he will go to prison.”