Court: Man punched to floor in Boroughbridge betting shop attack

The victim was floored by two blows to his head and body, whereupon Wayne Porter, 31, snatched £250 from him.

The injured man ran out of the bookies in Boroughbridge, but Porter stayed put and carried on playing the one-armed bandit, York Crown Court heard.

Porter, who was drunk, was later arrested after the victim did a Google search for local criminals and found a picture of his attacker.

He went to the police who were able to match the image with CCTV footage from inside the betting shop.

Porter, of Manor Road, Knaresborough, was charged with robbery and admitted the offence. He appeared for sentence on Friday.

Prosecutor Laurie Scott said the victim was about to leave the bookies when Porter walked in and persuaded him to stay and bet with him on the one-armed bandit.

They agreed to share the winnings, but Porter lost money on the machine and flew into a rage, added the barrister.

He demanded the victim hand him some cash which he claimed he owed him. The victim gave him £40 but Porter said that wasn’t enough, so he gave him another £20 just before being attacked. He suffered a cut lip and soreness to his face.

Porter snatched the £250 from the victim either just before or during the attack at Megabet on High Street, added Ms Scott.

He told police he had no recollection of the incident on July 14 last year because he was drunk.

Mark Foley, mitigating, said Porter was heavily drunk at the time and remained at the scene following the attack “with money screwed up in his hand”.

He said that Porter, a father-of-one who works as a welder, had always held down employment but his life had been blighted by drink which had given rise to his offending.

He added that Porter, originally from Harrogate, had moved away from the town to distance himself from bad influences and would miss the birth of his second child in March if he was jailed.

Judge Paul Batty QC jailed Porter for three years and four months.