A DRUNKEN man has been jailed for a nasty phone robbery after he climbed aboard a boat and launched a brutal attack near a city bridge.

Ashley Evans of Hollymount Road, Tolladine, Worcester, who has committed a previous robbery in the city, was jailed for 58 months at Worcester Crown Court this week.

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The latest robbery happened near the Sabrina Bridge in Worcester on Tuesday, July 5 last year which led to an appeal for witnesses by West Mercia Police. 

The investigating officer was DC Damian Fitzmaurice of South Worcester IOM team.

Worcester News: THUG: Ashley Evans has form for robbery THUG: Ashley Evans has form for robbery (Image: West Mercia Police)

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "The victim was moored at the riverside on his boat when the defendant climbed aboard and ultimately attacked him whilst taking his mobile phone, a totally unprovoked attack fuelled by alcohol during the morning commute for many members of the public."

DC Fitzmaurice of South Worcester Integrated Offender Management Team said: “This is strong sentence which reflects both the severity of the crime and the danger to the public which this persistent offender posed. I hope this provides reassurance to our community that West Mercia Police is committed to keeping our communities safe and we will keep pushing for the strongest sentences possible."

We reported in July 2021 Evans was made subject to a three-year criminal behaviour order.

The order banned him from large swathes of the city centre - though he did not attend court to learn his fate.

Instead, the order was made in his absence on the back of his conviction for the theft of two bottles of vodka from Tesco in Warndon on January 26, 2021.

Police applied for the order following numerous reports of drunken antisocial behaviour committed by Evans in both Worcester city centre and Tolladine.

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As previously reported Evans was one of two men who carried out a robbery at St Paul's News in St Paul's Street, Worcester on April 24, 2018, both men entering the store with their hoods up.

Evans, whose own solicitor said his client had been drinking 'industrial quantities of alcohol' and snorting cocaine the day before, stood by the door preventing customers entering while the robbery took place.

Judge Jim Tindal sentenced Evans to 32 months in prison and Cowtan to 31 months.

He said at the time: "The only appropriate way to describe what you did on that day is cowardly. There was only one person who showed bravery on that day and that was Mrs Patel."