A man who repeatedly punched his victim in the face during a brutal and bloody robbery has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.

Jordan Cooney, 28, of Dewing Avenue in Manorbier, was drinking and smoking cannabis in his victim’s Pembroke Dock flat on the evening of September 26 this year.

Swansea Crown Court heard that in the course of the evening Cooney set upon the other man, who was considerably older than him.

He punched the man repeatedly to the face ‘raining blow after blow on him’ and then asking for his debit card and PIN number, punctuating each word by hitting him.

After the man gave Cooney both his card and his PIN he tried to escape. Cooney ran after him and dragged the man back into the flat by his hair and again punched him repeatedly.

His victim said that he had sustained between 20 and 30 blows to his face and said that he had never been punched so hard in his life.

In a statement his victim said that it had changed his life. He was frightened to go out and fearful in his own home.

He said that he had never been hurt so much in his life. He now suffered from nightmares and was afraid of being assaulted again.

The court heard that Cooney knew his victim was due to be paid his benefits at midnight on September 26. He went to a cash point in Pembroke Dock shortly after midnight and tried to withdraw the cash.

His first attempt was not successful, as the funds had not been transferred, so he returned at 2.22 am on September 27 and after checking the balance withdrew £500 from his victim’s account.

He then returned an attempted to withdraw the remaining £160 from the account but was refused as the maximum daily withdrawal was £500.

“You knew that his benefits were going to be paid in at midnight,” said Judge Mr Recorder J Powell KC. “This was a deliberate plan. Almost as if you were waiting for midnight to approach so you could get the information to obtain the money.”

His victim, when he was sure Cooney had left, called 999. Police attended his property and found him clearly injured with a severely swollen and bloody face and blood stains in the property.

Judge Powell said that the photos of his injuries were ‘appalling’ and it was a ‘miracle’ that he had not suffered more serious injuries or fractures.

Cooney was arrested in Monkton on the afternoon of September 27 when police found him in possession of two bags of cocaine worth around £100.

He initially denied the robbery and causing actual bodily harm, saying that when he had left his victim’s flat two other men had been there.

However, he pleaded guilty to robbery, actual bodily harm (ABH), fraud and possession of a controlled drug at Swansea Crown Court today, Friday November 10.

The court heard that he had 16 previous convictions for 39 offences and that he was on bail and under supervision when the robbery and ABH happened.

In Cooney’s defence it was said that he felt genuine remorse for what he had done and was seeking help for his problems, which included drug misuse, and suffering from PTSD.

Judge Powell handed down a sentence of five years and three months, half of which Cooney will spend in jail and the other half on licence.

He also made an indefinite restraining order to protect the victim and a destruction order for the drugs.

“I hope that you will continue to make use of your time in custody and that by the time you come out you will be a different person,” said the judge.

“If you do that, everybody else will be delighted. If you don’t then you will spend much of your life in prison and that will be a tragedy.”

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