A PROLIFIC bad boy with dozens of offences to his name is back behind bars after he punched an innocent man in the face for no reason.

Wayne Lord went on an offending spree over a three-month period between April and June after losing his job and resorting to alcohol, Preston Crown Court heard.

The 27-year-old, who has been in and out of prison since he was a teenager, has 40 convictions for 67 offences.

However it was heard that Lord had managed to get his life on track in 2018, staying out of trouble for almost two years before he lost his job due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prosecuting, Beth Pilling described how the defendant had started his offending spree in March, when he assaulted Eric Slade by punching him in the face while he walked down Gannow Lane in Burnley with his wife, leaving him with a black eye.

Less than two months later while riding his bike in the town, Lord started to attack vehicles in the street, causing £1,000-worth of damage to a Nissan Juke and a further £500-worth of damage to another car – which coincidentally belonged to Mr Slade, who he had punched in the face just weeks before.

Lord, of Allendale Street, Burnley, committed these offences while on bail for the assault on Mr Slade.

The final incident took place in May, when he was arrested for carrying a knife on Allendale Street.

Defending, Peter Holden said: “The best mitigation I have on his behalf are his guilty pleas which he entered at the very first opportunity.

“It is plain to see that he has a long-standing problem with alcohol and when he is emotionally low and drinking he commits offences – and very many of them over the course of the years.

“Where there is a slight difference in his record was in 2018, where there appears to be a break of almost two years. That seems to have coincided with him stopping drinking and getting employment. He was working and holding down a job.

“Unfortunately he lost that job because of the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the loss of a close friend. This is what led to him going back to his old ways.”

Describing Lord’s assault on Mr Slade as ‘mean and meaningless’ Judge Philip Parry sentenced him to 12 months in prison.

He added: “There is no reason for you having done this other than being drunk.”