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A homeless man who stole an iPhone and a purse from Manchester Arena bombing victims has been jailed for four years and three months.

Chris Parker was hailed a hero in the aftermath of the terror attack after he claimed to have helped some of the wounded victims.

But the judge who sentenced him said: "You were not the hero you pretended to be - you were just a common thief.”

More than £50,000 was raised to help the rough sleeper following the suicide bombing which left 22 people dead on May 22 last year.

CCTV recovered by police showed him wandering the foyer of the arena amid the dying and injured, stealing from victims including a survivor whose teenage granddaughter was killed.

Parker - who claimed his "gut instinct" had been to stay and help - also took graphic photos of the wounded as they received medical treatment, and sold images to a reporter, the Manchester Evening News reports.

It emerged during sentencing that he rejected phone calls from an injured 14-year-old girl's worried parents as they tried to find out if she was alive.

Parker then sent a text message from the stolen phone reading “Sorry I can’t talk right now” after the mum and dad frantically tried to ring the teen following the deadly blast.

A prosecutor told the court: "He was no hero."

Parker was also banned from Manchester city centre for 10 years.

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The 33-year-old father-of-one admitted at a hearing at Manchester Crown Court last month to stealing a purse and a phone from two victims.

He was wearing a grey jumper and had black goatee when appeared for sentencing on two counts of theft and one count of fraud on Tuesday.

Judge David Hernandez told him: “I accept that you helped some people, however, there is force in the submission of the prosecution that these moments of compassion were brief.”

The judge added: "You represented yourself as a hero. Sadly you were not the hero you pretended to be - you were just a common thief.

"It is hard to contemplate a more reprehensible set of circumstances."

(Image: MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS) (Image: AFP)

Parker was caught on camera leaning over the body of injured survivor Pauline Healey to steal her purse as her 14-year-old granddaughter Sorrell Leczkowski lay dying next to her.

A photo shown in court revealed he had taken a close-up picture of Mrs Healey's face as she lay injured next to her wounded daughter and dying granddaughter, with Prosecutor Louise Brandon telling the judge that Parker offered no assistance to her or her family.

A short time later the emergency services arrived and he was moved on.

In a victim impact statement, Mrs Healey said the events of May 22 have had a devastating impact on her family, only to be made worse by Parker's actions.

(Image: MEN Media)

She told the court: “Chris Parker has added further difficulty and upset for us to cope with things we didn’t really need to be dealing with at this time.”

She spoke of a sense of "relief" after Parker came over to her and her family, believing he was there to help.

She remembered Parker taking the bag off her back and taking out her mobile phone.

Parker gave her the phone as her husband rang, and left with her bag. When he returned it the purse was missing.

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Mrs Healey added: “The actions of this man are truly deplorable and despicable and have taken my focus away from my health and supporting my family.

“I cannot understand how anyone could exploit an attack of this kind for their own gain during a scene of this destruction and tragedy.”

Parker also snatched the mobile phone of the 14-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as he spent about 45 minutes in the arena.

The girl's mother said in a victim impact statement that she was left frustrated as she and others rang the phone to find out if her daughter was among the wounded.

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Parker declined calls made to the phone and sent a message back saying "Sorry I can’t speak right now", the court heard.

Ms Brandon said Parker deliberately obstructed attempts to locate the phone.

At 6am on May 23, the day after the attack, he visited a police cordon and handed it over to a police officer, but he kept Mrs Healey's purse.

Within hours of the atrocity Parker was using Mrs Healey's bank cards at a local McDonald's. He used the card at McDonald's at least three times.

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Ms Brandon said Parker provided "short-lived" assistance to victims who were with someone in a wheelchair, but he then took the opportunity to commit the thefts immediately after the atrocity.

Contrary to the impression he gave to the media afterwards, she said, "he was no hero".

CCTV footage recorded in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity was played in court, showing Parker looking through victims' bags and taking items from them.

The court was shown the graphic photos he took of the bombing victims.

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One showed a close-up of Mrs Healey's face, while two others showed a view of victims being helped in the arena's City Rooms entrance and someone who was seriously injured.

When he was later interviewed by police he told officers that he sold photographs on his phone to a reporter for £100.

Ms Brandon said Parker still had Mrs Healey's purse as late as June last year, even showing it to staff at the Booth Centre, which helps the homeless.

He claimed he had got it from a woman he helped at the arena, telling staff he thought she had died but later found out she had survived.

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(Image: PA)

John Broadley, defending, said: “Nothing that I will say in mitigation can possibly excuse Mr Parker’s behaviour that night.”

He added: “Mr Parker does wish me to express his deep sorrow and shame for his behaviour that night.

“It will probably carry very little weight but it’s something he has asked me to say on his behalf.”

Mr Broadley said Parker was in "isolation" in prison following his arrest for skipping bail, and he will be on the vulnerable persons wing in prison.

Parker has received threats for the crimes, the barrister added.

He will not receive the money raised for him through the public appeal on the website GoFundMe. It will instead go back to the donors.

(Image: MEN Media) (Image: AFP)

Pauline Healey's full statement This is the full victim impact statement read out by Prosecutor Louise Brandon on behalf of bombing survivor Pauline Healey: "Mrs Healey described the initial sense of relief when the defendant approached, believing that he was there to help the seriously injured and that he had realised that her family were in desperate need of help. "Mrs Healey explained that the defendant asked where her mobile telephone was, removed her bag from her shoulder and rummaged through it. "As he found it, Mrs Healey’s husband rang her and the defendant answered it and passed the telephone to Mrs Healey. She saw the defendant walk away with her handbag, returning with it a short while later but her purse was no longer inside. "Mrs Healey has also described her feelings having been made aware that the defendant took her photograph whilst she lay seriously injured on the floor, next to her injured daughter. "Mrs Healey knows that the photograph also included her deceased granddaughter and that the defendant quickly went on to sell the image to the media. "Mrs Healey has understandably formed the view that the defendant’s sole intention that evening was to take advantage of the seriously injured and dying victims of the bombing in order to make money for himself. "Mrs Healey has stated that ‘the actions of this man are truly deplorable and have detracted my focus from my own health and from supporting my family in the way that I need to'. "'Chris Parker has added further pain, difficulties and upset for us to cope with, things we really didn’t need to be dealing with at this difficult time’. "She is at a loss to understand ‘how another person could look to exploit such an attack for his own self-gain whilst surrounded by a scene of tragedy and suffering’. "Mrs Healey also explains that she and her family chose to grieve and come to terms with what has happened to them privately. However, because of the defendant’s actions, she has seen her image and that of her granddaughter and other family members in the media and has received unwanted contact. "She did not want the attention that she has had and it is heightening the suffering of her family."

He also admitted a bail offence after he failed to attend court on December 22 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He failed to turn up for the first day of his trial and he was found hiding in a loft in Halifax, West Yorkshire, where he had been living, in the early hours of January 3.

The court heard he has 10 previous convictions including the theft of a mobile phone from his mum, and stealing a computer game console belonging to the children of his former partner.

Mr Broadley said Parker has five previous convictions for dishonesty, and he has never received a custodial sentence before.

The court also heard Parker appeared at Bradford Magistrates' Court on December 5 for possession of heroin.

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After Parker was jailed, Greater Manchester Police Superintendent Chris Hill said: “No matter what personal circumstances you might find yourself in, to steal from injured and terrified innocent people is deplorable.

“Parker exploited these people when they were at their most vulnerable and needed the help of those around them.

“I cannot begin to imagine what they have been through and I want to thank them for their courage.

“We continue to offer our support to all those affected.”

Ben Southam, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Christopher Parker entered Manchester Arena in the immediate aftermath of the explosion.

"It was a devastating and distressing scene, and while he did offer some comfort and assistance to a number of victims who had been injured by the bomb, the evidence showed he was also looking for opportunities to take advantage of the situation.

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“The CPS demonstrated that Parker acted dishonestly by taking items from injured victims, and that he intended to keep those items for his own benefit.

"His actions added to the immense distress the victims and their families have suffered and our thoughts remain with them.”

Parker's family recently told the Sunday Mirror how he taunted them for doubting his bogus claims of bravery before he was rumbled by police.

He wrote to his ex in one message: “Went to the One Love concert as a special guest. Does that not tell you the truth you d***head.”

The benefit concert was held in June, just days after terrorist Salman Abedi blew himself up as fans left an Ariana Grande gig at Manchester Arena.

In another message Parker bragged: “Hahahahaha d***head you are just jel cause I’ve got 52 grand. Ahahaha.

“And you are all on benefits whilst I’m on my way to Turkey… you are all just a bunch of scruffs… look at my bank account 52 grand richer.”