A homeless man has been spared jail after he assaulted a man on a night out who refused to give him any change.

The victim was on his way back to his hotel from an evening with colleagues when he was approached by Tyrone Taylor, 21, outside Fibre nightclub on June 10.

He told Taylor that he didn’t have any change and ‘everyone is struggling and having a hard time at the moment.’

Prosecutor Heather Gilmore said Taylor claimed to have been verbally abused and when the 53-year-old victim started walking away he started ridiculing him.

She said: ‘He walked to Heaton’s Court and the complainant punched him in jest and he picked up a glass bottle to warn him off.’

Ms Gilmore said he was then assaulted by Taylor, who was wearing a ring with edges at the time, causing injuries to his face.

Ms Gilmore said: ‘As he was on the floor he [Taylor] walked away and picked up his jacket.’

He took a mobile phone and the man’s wallet containing his bank card and driving licence.

Taylor tried to use the bank card to buy cigarettes but it was declined.

The victim was taken to hospital where a cut to his head had to be glued.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, the man said that after he had left Headingley his memory was blurry and he did not remember being in Fibre nightclub but his bank statement suggested he had been.

Ms Gilmore said: ‘He says he can’t remember following the defendant and his recollections of what happened to his phone and jacket were inconsistent. CCTV shows the defendant walking past witnesses outside Stone Roses bar being followed by the defendant.

‘Footage showing a smaller road he followed him down was poorly lit so it was not possible to see the assault but a figure thought to be the complainant on foot is seen for a few moments but when a car turns into the road he is on the floor.’

In the statement, the man said the assault had left his three daughters distressed and he was ‘fearing for his life’ while it was taking place and has suffered from flashbacks and nightmares since.

The court heard Taylor was arrested the next day as he slept rough at Granary Wharf.

He pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and theft at an earlier Crown court hearing. He has previous convictions for offences including burglary, battery and possession of an offensive weapon.

Judge Tom Bayliss QC said: ‘To put it mildly – you had a difficult upbringing. None of that excuses what you have done but it does explain how you have come to be in this situation you are in. You were homeless and begging and the victim was minding his own business.’

He was given a 16-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

When Taylor appeared to cry, Judge Bayliss said to him: ‘I can’t tell whether the tears today are crocodile tears or genuine tears.’

Taylor replied: ‘I’m genuinely sorry.’

The judge added: ‘One last opportunity. Really, the future is in your hands.

‘Commit no further offences for two years and do what the probation service tells you and you won’t go back to prison and perhaps you can make something of your life but tears won’t do any good if you don’t. You will go straight back to prison.’

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