A judge expressed his disbelief at having to sentence a man for theft when he was originally charged with robbery.

Judge Philip Statman, sitting at Maidstone Crown Court, said it was "absolutely extraordinary" Marcus Jones, 25, only ever appeared in court accused of the lesser offence.

After hearing the facts of how Jones, of Pavillion Court, Marine Terrace, Folkestone, "bullied" a 16-year-old boy into handing over his £200 mobile phone and pushed him up against a wall in the town, the judge queried what he had been charged with at the police station.

When told by prosecutor Deborah Charles the original offence was robbery and she could not explain why this never appeared on any court document, Judge Statman remarked: "That is extraordinary. Absolutely extraordinary.

"I make it absolutely clear I have to sentence this defendant for that which he has pleaded guilty to. I must sentence him in relation to an offence of theft."

Having imposed a 52-week jail term suspended for two years on Friday, the judge commented that the punishment would have been more severe on a charge of robbery and asked for a written explanation for the mix-up.

"It is as clear a case can be of robbery and I would not have been proceeding along the lines I have today. It seems to me someone does not understand the definition of robbery."

In law, theft is defined as "the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it". Robbery is defined as "theft by force, or by threat of force".

Conditions attached to the suspended sentence include a drug rehabiliation requirement of "high intensity" for 12 months, supervision by the probation service for 12 months, a six-month long curfew between 7pm and 7am, and an order to attend all 22 sessions of the Home Office accredited Think First Programme.

Edmund Birge, defending, said Jones's offending had been motivated by drug abuse and that rehabilitation would significantly reduce his risk of committing further crime.