zhickey
Zoe Hickey (R) and her partner Imogen Mellor (L) went on the run after attacking Kevin Garfoot. Zoe Hickey / Facebook

A couple who went on the run with a pet hamster after they beat up and mugged a massage parlour boss with rubber mallet have been jailed.

In a "revenge attack" Zoe Hickey, 29, and her partner Imogen Mellor, 28, attacked massage parlour boss Kevin Garfoot and fled in the style of the 1991 film Thelma and Louise.

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Garfoot was struck with the rubber mallet and then kicked and punched about the head before the couple took £220 in cash from his wallet before fleeing with a hamster they kept in the flat.

They were arrested ten days later in Blackpool, Lancashire, and the pair have been jailed for a total of nearly three years.

Preston Crown Court was told that Mellor had been working and living at the parlour but was told to leave by Garfoot after he discovered that she had secretly allowed Hickey to stay at the parlour.

After being sacked by Garfoot, Mellor beat him to the floor with the mallet before the couple took the cash and fled on 31 July last year, reported the MailOnline.

Prosecuting, David Trainer said: "He told that her partner had to leave and Mellor wasn't happy about it. She told him that if Zoe had to leave then she would leave to and he told her to pack her bags. An hour later, Mellor went into Mr Garfoot's office and told him he was being unreasonable.

"He describes being struck to the head by Mellor with a rubber ended mallet which caused him to fall to the floor and there were further blows with kicks and punches from Mellor. Mr Garfoot saw an opportunity to get free but was grabbed again and Mellor placed him in a headlock."

The court heard that Garfoot has suffered difficulty with his speech since the attack as a disk in his throat, implanted after a Laryngectomy, slipped.

Trainer added: "Following the attack both Mellor and Hickey were responsible for removing his wallet, which contained £220 in cash. They also took with them a hamster but further enquiries revealed this belonged to the couple."

Mellor was jailed for 21 months after she pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and theft, while Hickey, a former holiday camp worker, was locked up for 12 months after pleading guilty to theft.