A teenager has been jailed for mugging two people in the centre of Ipswich.

Asghar Hashemi already had a record of three street robberies before being jailed for two more at Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old was among a group of at least three who set upon a 43-year-old man returning home from an office Christmas party in Ipswich town centre on December 13 last year.

Hashemi, of no fixed address, stole an iPhone, bank cards and an iWatch, which he was later caught with via a tracker app previously downloaded by the victim before he was left bloodied and bruised in Dial Lane.

Hashemi had yet to be formally charged with the first robbery when he and a group set upon and injured an 18-year-old man in Derby Road on the night of January 25 – stealing his trainers, mobile phone and a coat worth £1,200, which he was also found in possession of at the YMCA.

Hashemi was charged and later admitted both robberies at a plea hearing in February following a spell remanded in custody.

On Tuesday, he was sentenced for the robberies and two other offences he asked to be taken into consideration – possession of cannabis on the night of his arrest in January and theft of a Rolex watch snatched from a teenager in Colchester last June.

Prosecutor Peter Gair said the location of Hashemi’s latest robberies “bore remarkable resemblance” to those committed as a youth and dealt with by way of a referral order, which he completed early, in December 2018.

Lynne Shirley, mitigating, said Hashemi had reflected on the offences while detained and had shown clear evidence of remorse, regret and even shame.

She said Hashemi had been employed and had stable accommodation until being forced to quit, leaving him jobless, in £1,500 of rent arrears and unable to claim benefits due to his immigration status.

After Judge David Goodin sentenced Hashemi to 32 months’ custody, Detective Constable Barry Simpson, from the Operation Converter team, which visited the teenager on remand to discuss making admissions to the two other offences, said: “He was remorseful and wants to take part in restorative justice so that he may have the chance to meet his victim for the Dial Lane robbery to apologise if this is possible.

“He has been referred to the restorative justice hub.”