A FORMER 'special forces' soldier who tried to rob a woman at a cash machine 48 hours after he bit a man who tried to stop him shoplifting has been spared jail.

Andrew Wilson, 40, moved in on the woman as she withdrew £200 from the ATM and tried to prise her fingers of her cash.

But a judge suspended his sentence so he can get help for his mental health.

James Haskell, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court the first incident took place at the Dorcan Way branch of Morrison's on Friday, April 28.

He said Wilson was seen leaving the supermarket pushing a trolley containing goods worth £432.82p which had not been paid for.

"Security staff tried to detain him. The defendant became aggressive and started to struggle," he said.

"A member of the public tried to assist the security in detaining the defendant, the person was bitten on the arm.

"He described the pain of the injury on the scale of one-to-10 as five. He said there was a small chunk of skin missing and his arm was bleeding."

He said two days later a woman had been at the Coral's Bookmaker in Marlow Avenue when she popped outside to use the nearby cash machine.

As the £200 came out a man who had been lurking nearby tried to grab it from her as she folded it into her palm.

The former soldier, who tried to conceal his face by pulling his jacket up over it, spun her round by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall.

He tried to pull back her fingers to get the wad of notes from her but when she screamed he pushed her back and ran away.

Hearing the commotion her husband came out of the bookies and chased the attacker to a nearby address and called the police.

When he was questioned the defendant said he had been in the Army and suffered post traumatic stress disorder, which led to him having a drug problem.

Wilson, who gave the court the address of a friend in Woodhouse Road, admitted theft, common assault and attempted robbery.

Richard Williams, defending, said that his unemployed client had seen active combat in more than one theatre during his time in the military.

He has drifted into using class A drugs after he was discharged from the forces in 2010, but is currently clean after going ‘cold turkey’.

Mr Williams told the court that a psychiatric report links his drug use to his mental health issues from his time in the services.

He said his client had a 'deep felt remorse' for what he had done and was currently on benefits and living with his parents.

The court heard that his condition had been formally diagnosed after he was 'injured significantly' having served with 'special forces'.

Passing sentence Recorder Michael Vere-Hodge QC said: "The service to your country is something that every court has to recognise once.

"This is your one-off credit for that. It is not something that can be advanced each time should you get in trouble.

"You can't expect another court, should you get in trouble, taking that in to account. It is part of the background and lead up but not an excuse for these offences."

He imposed a 15-month jail term suspended for two years with 25 days of rehabilitation activity requirement, a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement, and a two-year mental health requirement.