A 20-YEAR-OLD Lye man has been locked up after a "nasty street robbery" in which a pensioner who had just withdrawn cash from a post office was attacked in an alleyway.

Shoaib Iqbal, of Belmont Road, pleaded guilty to robbery and last Wednesday (January 13) at Birmingham Crown Court he was sentenced to three years behind bars for the offence which left a 65-year-old man bruised and shaken.

Iqbal had pounced after seeing his victim take cash from the post office in Lye on March 9 and he had followed him to an alleyway of Chapel Street, police said.

The victim was then dragged to the ground and had his wallet ripped from his pocket and Iqbal made off with £200.

Fortunately the victim suffered just bumps and bruises but police said he had been left "very shaken by the attack".

West Midlands Police issued an appeal for information following the incident and within hours a number of people had given details that proved vital in identifying Iqbal as the robber.

Police paid him a visit at home after receiving tip-offs and they said they found him hiding upstairs, having "shaved his head in an attempt to alter his look from the bushy-haired suspect shown in the images released".

His downfall came, however, when police found messages on his mobile phone from friends telling him he was 'famous' and all over Facebook wanted for robbery. He had even sent one friend a photo of his freshly shaved head, police said.

DC Neil Payton, of West Midlands Police Force CID, said of the incident: "This was a really nasty street robbery by a man who then tried to change his appearance to evade justice.

"But with the help of the public Iqbal, who had no previous convictions, is now behind bars.

"We hope this result brings comfort to his victim and also shows that committing such offences can lead to a custodial sentence."