A “PAIR of thugs” who indulged in “appalling pack violence” by attacking an innocent man in Bradford Interchange have both been locked up.

Daniel Tearne, 19, and Connor Jeffrey, 18, viciously set upon the man, a chef on his way home from work, as he climbed a set of stairs to reach the railway platforms at the station just after 10pm on February 18 last year.

Prosecutor Stephen Wood told Bradford Crown Court that the victim was shoved by Jeffrey as he reached the bottom of the stairs, but tried to ignore his provocation.

At that point, Jeffrey, who was with a girl and a group of men including Tearne, said: “What did you swing at me for?”

Mr Wood said the accusation that the man, who was carrying a rucksack, had swung at anyone was false, stating: “It was simply a device by which to interact with the complainant. This gang was simply out looking for trouble.”

As the man carried on up the stairs, the group ran after him, with Jeffrey pulling him down by his rucksack.

As he held on to the hand rail for support, the group surrounded the man, repeatedly punching him and kneeing him in the face.

During the attack, the group stole the man’s iPhone, said to be worth £300, and took a case containing his bank card.

Staff at the Interchange called the police, who took the “very shocked” victim home.

His girlfriend had arranged for the bank card to be cancelled, but not before Tearne had used it to make contactless payments worth a total of around £35, including buying a bottle of vodka from a Tesco store.

Mr Wood told the court that the female in the group had seemed to find the attack “extremely funny”, with the gang “laughing at the predicament” of their victim.

Describing the “brazen” incident, which he said was aggravated by the fact the gang were all wearing hoods to protect their identity, he said: “This was an unprovoked, vicious attack on a lone male, seemingly just for fun.”

The court was told that both defendants had pleaded guilty to an offence of robbery, with Tearne also admitting fraud by false representation.

However, in statements made to the probation service for the purposes of producing pre-sentence reports, both men failed to admit their offending.

Jeffrey, of Wycombe Green, Holme Wood, Bradford, claimed he was the victim of mistaken identity, and Tearne, of Long House Drive, Denholme, blamed the victim for provoking the attack by giving him a “dirty look.”

In mitigation before the court yesterday, barristers for both men said they now accepted responsibility for their actions.

Mr Wood told the court that Jeffrey had only recently been released from custody after receiving a ten-month sentence for affray linked to an incident just two days before the Interchange attack.

He and a group of other men, who were all given three-year Criminal Behaviour Orders, were said to have chased a homeless man into a store at Forster Square Retail Park before punching and stamping on him, causing head and facial injuries.

George Hazel-Owram, for Jeffrey, said his client’s offending had taken place within a month where he admitted he had “gone off the rails”, drinking vodka and whisky on a daily basis.

He said there had been no further offending since, with Jeffrey holding down a job and starting a relationship.

Tahir Hanif, for Tearne, said his client now accepted that the victim was “blameless” in the attack, labelling it a “shameless and cowardly” act.

He said the offence was “out of character” for McDonalds worker Tearne, citing the fact he had no previous convictions or cautions.

Judge Jonathan Rose ignored pleas for any custodial sentences to be suspended, describing the incident as an “appalling use of pack violence on an innocent, defenceless man.”

He told the defendants: “You thought that attacking innocent members of the public is a form of entertainment. I do not agree with that proposition.”

Describing the targeting of the man, the judge said: “He was on his own, no doubt tired, certainly vulnerable, and he came under attack by you two young thugs, because that is what you are.

“You thought it would be good entertainment to beat up this vulnerable, defenceless young man. That is the measure of your cowardice. It became a robbery because you were able to steal from him.”

Tearne was ordered to serve 27 months in a young offenders institution, with Jeffrey, who was 17 at the time of the attack and therefore sentenced as a youth, given 16 months.

Judge Rose said: “People who carry out attacks on members of the public in this way will go to custody to deter those who think there is sport in attacking people in the street.”