A ROBBER who subjected a man to a “wicked” attack in a pub toilet before stealing cash from his wallet has been jailed for nearly four years.

Luke Thompson, 32, was one of a group who targeted the man, a former soldier from the Newcastle area, while he was in The Cavendish Hotel in Keighley on August 7 last year.

Prosecutor Graham O’Sullivan told Bradford Crown Court that the man had been stood at the bar when he was approached by a woman who asked him if he’d like to join her friends for a drink.

Around an hour later, the man went to the toilet and was followed by two men, one of whom was Thompson.

As the man was stood at the urinal, Thompson told him: “Time’s up mate”, and hit him on the back of the head.

He was also verbally abusive to the man.

The man was struck again to the head and fell to the floor, at which point Thompson said “put him to sleep” as the second man tried to put the victim in a “choke hold”.

Mr O’Sullivan said that at one point during the attack, the man managed to crawl out of a fire exit before he was pulled back into the toilets by the pair, who then pulled down his trousers and pants to take his wallet, which contained £260 in cash.

The man was repeatedly hit to the face again before the attack ended and the two men returned to the bar.

The court heard that when the victim went back into the pub he pointed the defendant out to staff, at which point Thompson acted “aggressively” and tried to aim punches at him again before being ushered out of the bar.

Mr O’Sullivan said that the victim was left with footprint marks on his back, bruising to his face and eyes, and a chipped tooth.

In a victim impact statement, the man said that “on a scale of one to ten, the pain was a nine.” He added that the attack had prevented him moving in with his partner as the £260 was to be used towards a bond for a new house.

Thompson, of Victoria Road, Keighley, pleaded guilty to robbery.

The court heard he had 58 previous convictions on his record, and had received a four-year jail-term in 2010 for a series of robberies in which he took mobile phones while armed with an axe.

Imran Khan, defending, said Thompson had issues with alcohol and violence, but had become a “changed man” since the birth of his daughter.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, dismissed any possibility of a suspended sentence, telling Thompson his actions in the “sustained” attack had been “disreputable.”

On the victim, he said: “He made the mistake of paying for drinks from his wallet which contained £260. One of your group clearly saw that.

“He was repeatedly beaten. Even when he tried to crawl out of the fire exit, he was pursued and abused.

“Your barrister says you have an issue with alcohol and violence, that is an understatement.”

Sentencing Thompson to 45 months in prison, Judge Durham Hall told him: “What you did was quite wrong, quite wicked.”