Pensioner-bashing thug who was freed by magistrates because he was 'terrified of jail' goes on Facebook hours to BRAG about it

Luke Mansell, 18, battered a 78-year-old man who tried to stop him burgling a neighbour's home in Telford, Shropshire

But magistrates gave him a suspended sentence after hearing he was afraid of going to prison

Mansell bragged about the sentence in a message on Facebook hours later

He said he had a 'big fat joint' in another status update, and he posted a picture of a bong on the website

A teenage burglar who battered a 78-year-old man with a five-foot fence post was spared jail because his lawyer claimed he was terrified of prison - and then bragged about his sentence on Facebook only hours later.



Luke Mansell, 18, of Telford, Shropshire, boasted about being able to remove his tag and take illegal drugs after he was given only a suspended sentence by magistrates.



He walked free after claiming he had been acting in self-defence when he beat pensioner Arthur Ball, who had tried to stop him burgling a neighbour's home.

Unrepentant: Burglar Luke Mansell, who was said to be terrified of going to prison, was given a suspended sentence and bragged about it on Facebook



During the sentencing hearing at Telford Magistrates' Court, Mansell's solicitor, Steven Meredith, said: 'For seven months he has been scared to his wits end about what is going to happen in this case.



'He is screaming out for rehabilitation, the youth offending service assert he has the ability to change, and I am certain you will not see him before these courts again.'

But Mansell hid his fears in a Facebook message he posted shortly before the hearing, which read: 'Big fat joint before court judge best give me an orderr not a few months inside.'



And only hours after his sentence was handed down, Mansell went on Facebook again to post: 'Im off tag woooo hip hip array and 12 month suspended sentence and supervision order 12 months.'

Celebration: Posting messages as 'Luke Pukka Mansell', the burglar bragged about his sentence to friends on Facebook Brag: Mansell told his friends he was 'so happy' that he could take off his electronic tag after being spared an immediate prison sentence

Messages: Mansell was said to be afraid of going to prison, but before the sentencing hearing he told friends he had a 'big fat joint'

He also bragged of buying drugs paraphernalia online - and posted a picture of a bong, a device used for smoking cannabis, which he had ordered off the internet.



Other messages posted by Mansell in the last seven months appeared to make light of his situation.



Before previous court appearances, he made comments including 'court tomorra ooooooooo nooooooooooooo lol' and 'mr judge needs to be nice today lol'.



After a court appearance in July, he even played a joke on his friends, pretending he had been sent to prison.



He wrote: 'see you lot in 2 years lol'.

Status update: Mansell wrote the message 'mr judge needs to be nice today lol' before a previous court appearance in July

Paraphernalia: Mansell posted a picture of a bong, a device used for smoking cannabis, on Facebook

The court heard that Mr Ball was hurt after he caught Mansell holding a laptop and clambering out of a neighbour’s home in Ketley Town, Telford, on January 13.



Mansell grabbed a fence post and used it to strike the pensioner’s hip.



Mr Ball was bruised and could only walk with the help of crutches after the attack. He was also unable to drive.



Mansell admitted at a previous hearing causing actual bodily harm to Mr Ball and burgling the home of Anthony Edmunds.

Thug: Mansell battered a 78-year-old man with a five-foot fence post during a burglary, but claimed he was acting in self-defence



Magistrates said it was a ‘serious offence’ which caused ‘grave harm’ to an innocent person, leaving them with no option but to impose a custodial sentence.



But they decided to suspend the 16-week jail term for two years.



Mansell was also ordered to pay £250 compensation to Mr Ball and will be on a supervision order for 12 months with a requirement to attend several courses.



While on bail, Mansell had been on a strict curfew and electronically tagged preventing him from leaving the house between 7pm and 7am.