AN 18-YEAR-OLD beat up and robbed a man who was supposed to be his friend.

Preston Crown Court was told that in September 2017 Morgan Glover had gone to the home of James Barratt in Burnley and had demanded money from him.

He subjected Mr Barratt to a sustained beating and robbed him of a gold chain worth £89 and prised a half gold sovereign ring from his finger, valued at £319, and then stole £340 in cash from the victim before leaving.

When the case first came to be heard in August 2018, the judge deferred the sentence as Glover was already serving a community order for breaching a restraining order, and because of his relatively young age at the time of the robbery, the judge was reluctant to lock him up.

In a victim personal statement from Mr Barratt, he said the attack worsened his depression and anxiety, causing his relationship to break down.

Prosecuting, Alistair Reid said: “The sentimental loss he suffered with the stealing of the ring and chain was huge as he said they could never be replaced.

“Mr Barratt said Glover had robbed him not only of valuable possessions but some months of his life.”

Defence barrister, James Heyworth said his client had not reoffended since the sentence was deferred and was making steps to get his life back on track, although he had failed to fully comply with his community order.

Judge Jonathan Gibson said: “This was a nasty robbery that involved violence which caused injuries that didn’t look very pleasant on the photographs.

“I deferred the sentence as I believed handing you to custody would’ve done more harm than good. However it seems you have not done as well as I had hoped.

“I am going to give you a suspended sentence but if you had been 21 or older you would have been getting two or three years in prison.”

Glover of Quebec Road, Blackburn, was given 12 months in custody suspended for 18 months and ordered to pay the victim £400 compensation.