Thieves who stole bank cards and assaulted victim jailed – Dover
Two Dover thieves who stole banks cards from their victim before assaulting him have been jailed.
Tom McConnell, 31, and Christopher Bygraves, 37, each admitted the offences before Canterbury Crown Court.
Kent Police was called at 11.49pm on 23 August 2025 to Folkestone Road, where an assault had taken place by a footpath leading to Military Road.
Officers were alerted by members of the public who gave first aid treatment to the victim, a man in his 30s, after finding him with cuts and bruises to his head.
The offenders had punched the man after taking his phone and wallet from him. The two offenders made further threats before leaving the scene on foot.
Patrols attended and enquiries were completed at the scene.
An investigation led to the arrest of Bygraves and McConnell on 29 August. They were charged the following day.
Both pleaded guilty to theft, assault and fraud, after using the victim’s bank card to pay for goods at a petrol station in the town.
On Friday 27 February 2026, McConnell, of Durham Hill, Dover, was sentenced to a year and eight months’ imprisonment. Bygraves, also of Durham Hill, was jailed for a year and six months.
Detective Constable Hugo McFadyen said: ‘This was a frightening and unprovoked attack on a man who was outnumbered by his assailants and who was left by them, with injuries, by the roadside. Praise should go to those members of the public who stepped in to help, and whose evidence assisted the thorough work of our officers in securing the convictions of the offenders.
‘I am pleased that custodial sentences have been issued to Bygraves and McConnell since this reflects the seriousness of their actions, and I hope it provides reassurance to the victim, and to the community, that violence and exploitation will not be tolerated.’
