A HUNGRY criminal who had just attacked and robbed a pizza delivery man late at night on a Carlisle housing estate told his victim: “You don’t deserve this.”

Billy Moorhead, 35 – quickly traced by police because he used his own mobile phone to place the order with the pizza firm – was caught a short time later with his two accomplices in his Welsh Road home in Harraby.

They were surrounded by the spoils of their offending – the booze, half-eaten pizzas, and cigarettes. Moorhead admitted robbery. 

At Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor Brendan Burke described how on July 28 last year the victim was asked to deliver pizza, Coca-Cola and vodka to what turned out to be a “fictional address” in Dale End Road, Harraby.

“The road exists but the house number didn’t,” said Mr Burke.

At around 1.50am, said the barrister, the delivery man was driving around the Dale End Road area looking for the non-existent house when he was approached by Moorhead and his accomplices.

They were standing near the junction with Lightfoot Drive, Harraby. “They approached him and asked for the food,” said Mr Burke.

“The driver agreed but said he wanted to be paid in cash.” It was at this point, the court heard, that Moorhead stepped forward and twice punched the delivery driver in the face while his co-defendants grabbed the food, vodka, and cigarettes.

Moorhead was heard to shout to his accomplices: “Get the food.”

It was as Moorhead was about to flee that he turned to the victim and told him he did not deserve what they had done.

Mr Burke said: “He [Moorhead] was the lead defendant. He placed the order and this is how they were discovered, using his phone number. They were quickly located because of that phone number.”

Police arrested the trio as they sat in Moorhead’s house, enjoying what the judge in the case – Recorder Paul Hodgkinson – said were the “spoils” of their crime – “food, fags and booze.”

The court heard that Moorhead already had 19 previous offences on his criminal record, including an assault causing actual bodily harm, theft, being drunk and disorderly and a sexual assault.

David Callan, for Moorhead, said the defendant had previously worked as a trawlerman with his grandfather in Aberdeen. But he had a suffered a serious tendon injury and as a result gave up that work.

Following this, he was out of work for several years.

His life had been afflicted by unemployment, and addictions to cocaine and alcohol as well as having no fixed address. “When he comes out of prison,” said Mr Callan, “he will go back to Aberdeen and work for his grandfather. It’s extremely good money when the fish bite.”

But the barrister conceded that in the last few years the defendant’s life had “gone off the rails.” “But he wants to get back to Aberdeen and resume his occupation.”

Recorder Hodgkinson told the defendant: “On July 28 last year you were engaged in what can only be described as a binge with co-defendants, involving large amounts of cocaine and large amounts of alcohol.

“At around 1.50am, you and your co-defendants had clearly run out of alcohol and run out of cigarettes and you wanted some food. I have no doubt that it was you who telephoned the takeaway and asked them to supply vodka, cigarettes, Coca-Cola and pizza to an address which you knew at the time your order was made simply did not exist.”

Commenting on the defendant’s remark about the victim not deserving to be attacked, the Recorder said: “You were right: he didn’t deserve that; he was simply going about his work, doing a difficult job, helping the public.

The judge noted that a background report mentioned a head injury which caused the defendant mental health difficulties. But he highlighted also that Moorhead had targeted a vulnerable victim.

He jailed Moorhead for 34 months.

After the case, Detective Constable Charlotte Jones, from North Cumbria’s Crime and Safeguarding Team, said: “The victim was just doing his job when he was assaulted, and the delivery taken from his vehicle.

“We take all robbery and theft offences seriously and will take action against those committing this type of crime”

Moorhead's accomplices were sentenced for their part in the incident on an earlier occasion. Both admitted theft. Jonathan Rogers, 42, of Cumwhinton Road, Carlisle was given a community order and George-Alexandru Pruna, 28, of Warwick Square, Carlisle, was released because of the time he served while on remand.