Sunderland man appears in court on robbery charge after alleged incident which left another man unconscious and in hospital with serious head injuries

Elliott John Stables, 28, of Finsbury Street, has been charged with one count of robbery following an alleged incident on Durham Road at 8.30pm on Thursday, July 7.

Northumbria Police said officers were called after it was reported that a 27-year-old man was approached by three other men and for reasons yet to be established, one of the men then struck the victim on the back of his head with a heavy object before taking his mobile phone and wallet.

Police say the victim was knocked unconscious and was later taken to hospital with serious head injuries, where he remains in a stable condition.

Three men are said to have fled the scene on foot, and the incident was reported to police.

Stables appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates Court on Friday, July 9 and he was remanded into custody ahead of his next appearance at Newcastle Crown Court, scheduled for August 8.

Police said that a 22-year-old man has also been arrested in connection with the incident and he remains in custody at this time.

Officers are now appealing to the public for information that may assist their ongoing investigation.

Detective Constable Sean Bulpitt, of Northumbria Police, said: “This is an appalling attack and we are committed to bringing effective justice against anybody found to have been involved.“Our investigation is well underway as we look to understand the full circumstances around what has happened, and swift action has already been taken with one suspect due to appear before the courts and one further man arrested.“We know this is a busy location and we therefore believe several people may have witnessed this assault. I am asking those people who were in the area to get in touch.“If you think you may know any information that can assist our investigation, or perhaps have any footage such as CCTV or dashcam that could prove useful, then we want to hear from you.”