A homeless man feted as a hero for helping the injured and dying following a deadly bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester last year has been jailed after admitting to stealing from two victims.

Rough sleeper Christopher Parker was in the train station next to  Manchester Arena when a suicide bomber detonated a device in the foyer at the end the Grande concert.

Seven children were among the 22 killed in the blast last May, while more than 500 were injured.

Afterward, Parker, 33, told reporters he had rushed into the venue following the blast, comforting a badly injured girl who had lost both her legs and cradling a woman with serious head and leg wounds who died in his arms.

His story drew praise in the media and widespread public sympathy with a crowdfunding page raising more than £52,000 ($101,920) to help him.

However, he was sentenced to four years and three months in jail at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday local time after admitted at an earlier hearing that stole a purse from a woman and a mobile phone from a 14-year-old girl, both of whom were seriously injured in the attack.

He also pleaded guilty to fraud for later using a bank card in the stolen purse at a restaurant.

“Christopher Parker entered Manchester Arena in the immediate aftermath of the explosion,” Crown Prosecutor Ben Southam told the court.

“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.”