A MAN has been jailed for six-and-a-half years after hitting a man over the head with a knuckleduster outside a bank on Knaresborough High Street.

Ryan Hunt, 25, from Ripon, hit his 57-year-old victim as he was withdrawing £30 from a cash machine outside HSBC at 6.10pm on April 29, 2016, but failed to grab the cash.

Hunt, disguised with a balaclava, had parked up outside the bank in a white BMW 3 Series before targeting his victim who suffered minor injuries.

York Crown Court heard he sped off dangerously in the car causing damage to a police van and threw a bottle at officers.

A police operation was launched to track down the BMW and it was found abandoned nearby a short time later.

Hunt was arrested by officers near Mother Shipton’s Cave at 7.20pm along with a 21-year-old woman from Ripon.

Hunt was charged with attempted robbery and dangerous driving.

He was ordered to pay a £500 reward to the victim and banned from driving for six years and three months.

The 21-year-old woman was convicted of a public order offence and was sentenced to a community order and £150 costs.

Det Sgt Dean Robinson, of the Harrogate Serious Crime Team, said: “Ryan Hunt deserves the long prison sentence for his shockingly calculated and violent attempt to commit robbery on an innocent member of the public.”