A couple have been jailed after targeting a lone Tube passenger in a robbery where he was hit over the head with a vodka bottle.

Paul Cripps, 31, and 30-year-old Claire Huckle, both formerly of Mile End, were sentenced to four and a half years in prison at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday after admitting robbing the man on a train between Epping and Debden.

Huckle sat opposite the man and made small talk with him before signalling to Cripps, who was in the next carriage.

Cripps entered the carriage carrying a bottle of vodka, sat next to the man and demanded money from him.

The man made a plea to Huckle to call the police, but she did not.

Cripps then hit the man round the head with the vodka bottle, punched him in the face and wrestled with him, while Huckle looked through the victim’s bag.

The man fled the train at Debden and called the police, while Cripps and Huckle stayed on the train with the man’s bag.

The man suffered a dislocated right shoulder and bruises to his right cheek.

Cripps and Huckle were arrested after being spotted on CCTV at Epping station and their fingerprints were found there.

Detective Constable Carl Wayte, the investigating officer, said: “Cripps and Huckle’s actions were utterly callous and left the victim needing physiotherapy for his shoulder and having to wear a sling for six weeks.

“They targeted the victim because he was sat alone, which must have been a frightening experience for him.”

The pair were already serving jail terms while they were sentenced – Cripps for attempted robbery and unlawful wounding and Huckle for attempted robbery, theft and false representation.