A mugger has been jailed for leading a late night attack on a teenager who was ambushed on his way home from the cinema.
Shaun Tigwell ordered the victim to hand over a mobile phone while another friend hit him repeatedly 'like a punchbag', Exeter Crown Court was told.
An 18-year-old cinema goer was walking home through Exmouth late at night and was not aware of Tigwell and his two friends because he was listening to music on his mobile phone.
The group stopped him and demanded money and attacked him when he failed to pay up. One hit him, another smashed his glasses, and Tigwell took the phone, which was found smashed nearby.
Tigwell, aged 22, of Richards Close, Exmouth, admitted robbery and was jailed for two years and eight months by Judge Phillip Wassall.
He told him:"You and two others approached a complete stranger and threatened him in order to steal his mobile phone. You accept you were the ringleader. You have been unusually frank and admit the victim was treated as a form of punch bag.
"The court has to consider its public duty and must send out a clear message to others that street robbery will carry heavy sentences."
Mr Gordon Richings, prosecuting, said the attack took place in Prince of Wales Drive in Exmouth at around 11 pm on June 2 when the young victim was returning from a visit to the movies in the centre of the town.
He said Tigwell had not hit the victim but had shouted in his face and forced him to hand over the phone. The 18-year-old victim suffered bruising on his face.
Mr Rupert Taylor, defending, said Tigwell had been exceptionally honest with the police and identified himself as the ring leader of the attack.
He said:"His honesty is almost unheard of. He said he was venting his temper and described his actions as callous and stupid and the offence as horrible.
"It seems the trigger was the excessive consumption of alcohol. He does not have a background in offending."
