A judge has demanded to know why police released a thug with a history of violent offending following a fresh spate of crimes.

Within days of his release, serial offender Mark Mercer, 47, who was arrested after he three times snatched handbags from lone women in west Cumbria, went on to commit two terrifying robberies.

In one, he threatened his terrified victims with a gun.

Mercer, of Toll Bar Houses, Distington, was first arrested after he snatched a woman’s handbag in a Workington car park on December 1, and a police officer who looked at CCTV of the incident recognised him. Officers found him hiding in the loft of his home at Distington.

Also found there were five phones and a number of handbags, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

Yet despite Mercer, who was apprehended carrying his gun in a Carlisle city centre shop, already having a criminal record that included four previous robberies – including one with a gun – police released him on bail.

Days later, on January 9, Mercer mugged a woman in a Whitehaven street, and then 16 days after that he staged a terrifying armed raid at Maryport Post Office, threatening three women with a gun.

After hearing details of the case, Judge Peter Davies expressed dismay at the decision by police to release Mercer after his initial arrest.

The judge asked: “Who thought it was appropriate to give this man bail? They found five handbags.

“They found him hiding in the loft. I want to know the name of the police officer who thought it was appropriate to bail this man.

“Moreover, I want him to see me. Then I will report him to the chief constable.”

The judge also expressed surprise that it took almost three weeks to apprehend Mercer following the first robbery in Whitehaven.

Mercer’s criminal record includes four robberies, the first in 1991. In 1998, he used an imitation firearm to rob a building society.

His most recent robbery was in 2008, for which he was given an indeterminate sentence. He was released in 2013 after he persuaded the Parole Board that his violent offending was behind him.

The judge went on to praise the courage of Mercer's latest victims, including a Maryport Post Office worker who was due to get the results of cancer scans on the day Mercer threatened her and her colleagues with his gun.

Tragically, Dorothy Wood has since died.

The court had earlier heard how she bravely kicked Mercer in the shins as she attempted to stop him from getting behind the Post Office counter.

The two other women on duty with her that day – Christina Connell and Gwenn Birkett – also bravely resisted Mercer.

Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson also outlined how Mercer's earlier mugging victim, 20-year-old beauty salon worker Courtenay Leigh Johnson, also fought back.

When Mercer targeted her on a deserted street, he wrenched her handbag from her shoulder with such force that he knocked her to the ground. But Miss Johnson yelled out in protest and chased Mercer, who escaped in an accomplice's car.

The judge said: “I would like to make an award to them [the Post Officer workers] for their bravery; for their courage. I would like to make an award to Courtenay Johnson. She must have been very frightened but she fought back.”

Each of the four women will be awarded £350 from public funds.

Mercer was jailed for 18 years.

He had admitted two robberies, three handbag thefts, possessing a firearm when prohibited from doing do, and having an imitation gun with intent to cause fear. He also admitted handling a stolen car and making off without payment after filling the car with £40-worth of fuel at a Carlisle petrol station.

He must serve at least two thirds of his sentence, and an extended licence period, which will run five years beyond the expiry of his sentence.