Locked Up: The criminals jailed in Greater Manchester in August

A thief who swiped an elderly woman's purse and was chased down by an off-duty police officer was among those jailed in Greater Manchester last month.

A serial domestic abuser who threatened to kill his partner and held a knife to her throat has also been put behind bars. A drunken thug 'lost it' and killed a beloved dad in an attack was also handed jail terms.

Jail sentences are handed out to the worst offenders each week and Manchester Evening News reporters are in court to cover the most serious cases.

Read more:Woman, 29, with 'chaotic lifestyle' turns to sex work to pay for her £200-a-day heroin habit

Here are some of the criminals locked up in Greater Manchester in August.

An off-duty cop has been commended by a judge after chasing a thief who swiped an elderly lady’s purse. Thomas Sharrocks, 40, saw the woman putting her purse back into her bag after she had done her shopping in Oldham.

He approached her and said “I’m sorry love, I’m sorry love” before stealing the purse and running away. The woman, aged 83, called out for help, and fortunately an off duty police officer was nearby who then chased Sharrocks.

He caught up to him and challenged him, before Sharrocks threatened to ‘stab or prick’ him with a needle that he produced from his jacket pocket. The officer managed to wrestle the syringe from his hands and detained him before on-duty police arrived and arrested him.

On Tuesday (August 30), Sharrocks was jailed for more than three years after admitting theft and threatening a person with a sharply pointed article, and the officer, named in Minshull Street Crown Court as Ashley Wildman, has been commended for his bravery.

In a victim personal statement, that elderly woman said she was left feeling