A Bromley man has been jailed and banned from parts of the Tube network after pinching purses from women on the London Underground.

Peter Dallip, of Bradgate Road, was sentenced to 14 months in prison at Blackfriars Crown Court after targeting several victims on their daily commute at crowded Tube stations.

The 54-year-old, who has also been banned from Zones 1 and 2 of the London Underground for five years, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft and one of attempted theft.

On August 9, Dallip boarded a District line service at Victoria before snatching a purse from a woman’s bag containing £181 cash and jumping off the train at the next stop.

Dallip followed a second woman up a flight of stairs at Brixton Tube station, unzipped her bag and grabbed her purse containing £250 cash, on September 2.

A plain-clothes British Transport Police officer patrolling an eastbound Piccadilly line train at Leicester Square on October 22 arrested Dallip after catching him with his hands inside another woman’s bag.

While he was on bail, officers arrested Dallip again following a theft from another woman at Victoria station three days before he was due to appear in court.

Detective Constable Soraya White said: “This man targeted passengers who were simply going about their daily commute. He took advantage of crowded trains and stations before making his move.

“This conviction should show the public and would-be thieves that we will, and do, bring anyone who steals from passengers to justice.”