A ROYAL Navy sailor and his friend beat up an injured man with his own crutches, a court heard.

Bolton Crown Court heard how serviceman Craig Charlton and his friend Jamie King were in Bradshawgate, Bolton, on the evening on August 23 when they got into a discussion with Alan Harper.

Michael Morley, prosecuting, told the court how, following surgery, Mr Harper was walking with the aid of crutches.

After speaking to the two men he made his way along Churchgate when he heard people behind him.

His two hooded attackers grabbed hold of him, threw him against a wall and then hurled him to the ground before Charlton grabbed hold of him and frogmarched him into the nearby underpass.

While Charlton held Mr Harper, King picked up the crutches and swung them at his torso with King shouting abuse and Charlton making obscene threats.

The attackers eventually released him and walked off back to Bolton town centre with Mr Harper's mobile phone, which was dropped down a drainage grid, and his crutches.

Mr Morley told Judge Graeme Smith that the two men were seen gloating and celebrating what they had done, but their crime had been spotted by town centre CCTV operators and they were arrested.

In a victim impact statement Mr Harper, who was left bruised and grazed, said he was now scared to leave his house.

King, aged 25, of Hillsdale Grove, Harwood, pleaded guilty to robbery at an earlier hearing and Charlton, aged 26, of Stokingway Close, Plymouth, admitted robbery and theft.

The court heard that both men had no previous convictions.

Mark Friend, defending Charlton, said his client had been drinking that night and was "at a complete loss" to explain his behaviour.

"He is utterly ashamed of the way he behaved," he added, stressing that a prison sentence would have a devastating effect on his career and family.

Sentencing each defendant to 40 months in jail, Judge Smith told them their behaviour was "astonishing".

"It may be that judges sitting in criminal courts day in day out cease to be shocked — this is an incident I find shocking," he said.

"It is difficult for me to comprehend precisely what led to this incident. There is simply nothing to excuse it."

A spokesman for the Royal Navy said Charlton's future in the armed forces will now be considered and he may be dismissed.

"We will look at this conviction and what effect that is going to have on his service," she said.