Man who punched festive delivery driver jailed

A man has been jailed for punching a delivery driver and stealing the Santa hat he was wearing.

Kevin Norman Sinton was one of three intoxicated people seen by the driver as he travelled to drop off a parcel on Fell View in Whitehaven, Cumbria, on 5 December.

Sinton taunted the driver by snatching his Santa hat twice, removing a parcel from his van and hitting him in the face and knocking off his glasses.

The 26-year-old, of Queen Street, admitted assault by beating and theft.

He has since been recalled to prison to serve the balance of a 15-month prison sentence imposed for brandishing a knife and threatening a woman last January.

Carlisle Crown Court heard the driver - a man with 35 years' experience in the job -contacted his employers, Yodel, and police attended the scene in search of Sinton.

The stolen parcel was recovered from a front garden and delivered.

Marion Weir, mitigating, said Sinton was still a young and immature man who had committed his most recent offences while under the influence of alcohol.

She said: "[Sinton] knows he has to take some steps himself, at the age of 26, to get back on the straight and narrow."

Imposing an immediate three-month jail term, Judge Nicholas Barker said the victim had been "unnecessarily assaulted in an unpleasant way", as he was performing "a vital role" of delivery driver at a busy time.

The judge added: "You removed his Santa hat as he was trying to present a jolly image as a delivery driver, and removed a parcel."

Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].