A DRUG-FUELLED mugger who headbutted a man in the face and punched him up to five times to steal his wallet and phone has been jailed for three years.

Dean Whittaker, who had taken alcohol and cocaine, targeted his victim late at night on Allerton Road, Bradford.

Whittaker, 24, of Bronshill Grove, Allerton, pleaded guilty to robbery at 11.30pm on August 1.

Prosecutor Louise Pryke said he pursued a man returning home from watching a rugby match in the city.

The victim, who had just got off a bus, shouted up to his friends who were still on the vehicle.

Whittaker followed him down the street and challenged him aggressively, accusing him of swearing in public.

The man pushed him away and told him to leave him alone.

Whittaker then demanded: "Give me your wallet. Give me your phone."

When the man refused, he launched a sustained attack until he handed them over.

Whittaker headbutted him in the face and punched him four or five times to the head, leaving him stunned and injured.

He fled the scene and his victim flagged down a passing vehicle and called the police.

He was badly shaken and needed hospital treatment for a cut to his forehead and bruising and swelling to his nose.

The court heard that Whittaker had previous convictions for causing actual bodily harm, burglary and affray.

His solicitor advocate, Ash Mahmood, conceded that he was drunk and had taken drugs while on medication for health problems.

His recollection of events that night was not clear.

He had himself been injured when he was the victim of a robbery.

His partner was pregnant and he wanted to start a new life with her and the baby.

Judge Jonathan Rose said Whittaker deliberately targeted his victim late at night, fuelled by cocaine and alcohol.

He used persistent violence, leaving the man needing hospital treatment.

He told Whittaker that as a robbery victim himself, he knew what a terrifying experience it was.