Preston man Louis Rooney jailed after threatening delivery driver with 'spike' and throwing a firework in DHL vehicle

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A bullying thug hurled a lit firework into a DHL driver's vehicle - then brandished a metal weapon - as the frightened worker made a delivery to a Preston store.

Victim Greg Szymanski, 38, was delivering pallets of stock to Nisa on Village Green Lane, Ingol, when Louis Rooney and a boy in a school uniform approached his van, causing him to fear they would steal from the vehicle.


When he challenged Rooney, 20, of no fixed abode, he replied: "What are you gonna do about it?"

In a victim impact statement, the driver said: "Noone has the right to make me feel like that, and no one has the right to steal from my delivery van."

The court was obliged to impose a minimum six-month jail term under statutory guidelines, due to a previous knife related conviction.

Preston' Sessions House Court heard he became aggressive towards the driver as the incident unfolded at around 9am on November 1.

Rooney was sent to a young offender’s institution for nine months after pleading guilty to affray and possessing a weapon. David Clarke, prosecuting, said: " Because of his actions he suspected the defendant was about to try to steal something.