Two men who were part of a gang which surrounded and attacked a soldier in Ipswich have been found of guilty of robbery.

Jack Shilton, who maintains helicopters at Wattisham airfield, was punched in the face and kicked in the head by a group of five men who robbed him of his wallet and phone, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Before the court were Jerran Hart, 22, of Ravenswood Avenue, Ipswich, and Adam Poulter, 26, of no fixed address, who denied robbing Mr Shilton on June 6 this year.

A jury found them guilty of the charge after a trial and they will be sentenced on a date to be fixed along with three other men who admitted the charge.

During the trial the court heard that after the late-night attack in Queen’s Way, Ipswich, gang members were seen “bumping fists” as if they were proud of what they had done.

Mr Shilton lost consciousness during the attack and when he came round he had blood coming from his mouth.

He ran to a nearby house to get help and was taken to hospital suffering from a bruised kidney, lumps on his head and suspected broken ribs.

Giving evidence, he said he had been out in Ipswich with a friend during the evening they went to a kebab shop where they met a group of five men who invited them to a party.

Mr Shilton said his friend, Peter Scott, had just returned from Afghanistan and was keen to carry on the night so they had gone by taxi with the men to Queen’s Way.

When they got there they discovered there wasn’t a party and Mr Shilton and Mr Scott decided to leave.

Mr Shilton got into a taxi but jumped out again when he saw Mr Scott being chased by a group of men.

The taxi drove off and Mr Shilton found himself surrounded by the five men who demanded his wallet and phone and asked for his PIN number. He handed over his wallet and mobile thinking they would leave him alone but they continued to ask for his PIN number.

He told the court that one of the men said: “You are all alone in Ipswich now. What are you going to do?” and he was then punched in the face.

He went to the ground and was then kicked in the head and back.