A homeless man was attacked while sleeping in Bolton town centre in a robbery.

Charlie Railton was under the influence of crack cocaine when he saw the homeless man sleeping in the doorway to Lever Chamber Health Centre.

Railton has been on the playground on Octagon Court rummaging in bins, before he spotted the rough sleeper

Bolton Crown Court heard he became violent towards him during the incident in September last year.

Philip Hall, prosecuting, said: “The man had been in a duvet outside when the defendant approached him.

“He threw a pizza at him in the face and grabbed a phone which was valued at around £40.

“The man described trying to recover the phone from the defendant.

“He says the defendant kicked him to the ribs and punched him to the face.

“The defendant then ran off.”

Photographs of the injuries showed the victim suffered two black eyes.

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Mr Hall added: “The defendant was identified as he left two black bags at the scene, they were seized and had the fingerprints of the defendant on.

“He was arrested in February.”

A victim impact statement from the homeless man said: “This is the last thing I needed with everything else going on.”

Railton, 27, of Colenso Road, Preston, appeared in court to be sentenced for robbery after pleading guilty to the offence.

Adam White, defending, said he was making progress in tackling his problems with crack cocaine.

He added: “It is something he regrets, he expressed remorse about it when spoken to by the police.

“He is ashamed of himself for targeting someone in a position he has been in himself.

“It is important for someone in that position to have a phone, he feels particularly bad about depriving him of that particular device.”

Judge Eliott Knopf said: “I think it would be wrong to send you to custody immediately, however it may be thought to be a justified punishment for what you did.

“We are also concerned with the process of rehabilitation, bringing people into society so they are no longer using drugs and they are no longer a problem.

“The public interest is better served in my judgement in you not going to custody today but in being given an opportunity to show what you can do.”

He suspended a sentence of two years for two years and placed him on a curfew requiring him to remain at home between 9pm and 6am for six months.