Facebook Marketplace robber wore NHS uniform to lure victim

Anthony Price posed as a genuine buyer for a pricey motorbike he spotted listed for sale on the online auction site.

He then enticed the owner to a bogus address, having given a false name and claimed to be a hospital worker to earn his trust, before "seizing his chance to betray him" by assaulting him and nicking the vehicle. The robbery occurred less than three months after his release from prison as he "gave in to the lure of money".

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, that Simon Trafford was contacted by Price, using the alias David, on 3 March this year regarding a Kawasaki X500 motorcycle he had listed for sale on eBay. Price, 38, of Hale Drive in Speke, expressed his interest in buying the bike, valued at £7,000 and also advertised on Facebook Marketplace, and was sent photos and videos of the vehicles as a result.

Jonathan Keane, prosecuting, detailed how the two men agreed to meet on Rushton Close in Burtonwood, Warrington, where Price had falsely claimed to reside, on 10 March. Mr Trafford arrived at the address and removed the motorbike from his van, hopped onto the back of it and turned on the ignition to give a demonstration to the prospective buyer.

However, Price then shoved him off the motorcycle and sped away on the vehicle, leaving his victim sprawled on the ground. The motorbike has yet to be recovered, reports the.

Police later found out that during his interactions with the victim, he had been using a pay-as-you-go phone which had only been purchased on 3 March and was used solely to contact the complainant.

The device had been topped up with a credit voucher bought from Crossens Freshway, a convenience store on Rufford Road in Southport, on the same date and was shown to have travelled in convoy with Price's own mobile and his Mercedes Sprinter van to the area of the robbery at the relevant time. Following his arrest on 1 April, he claimed that a GPS tag which he had been required to wear as part of his licence conditions, having only been released from prison in January 2025, would place him in Burscough when the incident occurred.

But Mr Trafford would later identify him as the robber during an identity parade. Price has a total of 23 previous convictions for 62 offences dating back to 2002, including 12 for theft and an almost identical robbery in 2004 when the then 17 year old "pushed a moped driver from his vehicle and road off on the vehicle".

His record also shows entries for aggravated vehicle taking in 2011 and a 32-month imprisonment in March 2024 for making threats to kill and criminal damage. He has since been recalled to serve the remainder of latter sentence.

Bob Sastry, defending, addressed the court saying: "When one looks at his record, there is a fairly lengthy gap of six years. He has been able to remain in the community without committing offences after a very difficult upbringing.

"He did eventually sort himself out through gainful employment. He was delivering kitchens and earning a wage, and continued to do so through that period between 2017 and onwards. That is significant in the context of a young man who has clearly had a very hard time over the years.

"Unfortunately, when released on licence, he was unable to resume his employment. The job was available for him. He had significant restrictions in terms of where he was permitted to go and his movements were restricted.

"That meant that he could not work for that company any longer. Unfortunately he succumbed to the desire for money and committed this offence, albeit he did not make very much out of it."

Price pleaded guilty to one count of robbery. Appearing via video link from HMP Altcourse clad in a black Hugo Boss polo shirt, he received an additional 18-month prison sentence.

Judge Charlotte Crangle said during sentencing: "Between 2017 and 2024, you, perhaps for the first time in your life, had a sustained period where you seemed to keep out of trouble. Unfortunately, at the beginning of 2024, you committed offences which led to you being imprisoned and thereafter released on licence in January this year.

"It is clear to me that this offence was quite well planned. You bought a phone which was only used for your correspondence with Mr Trafford. There were a number of messages to and fro. Clearly, you were trying to win his trust.

"At one point, he made a remark that you 'seemed like a decent guy'. He volunteered, out of his own sense of decency, to bring the bike to you, because you seemed like a genuine purchaser. All of the messages were designed to win his trust, and they worked.

"While it was a significant period of time ago, in fact, 20 years ago now, you had done it in an identical fashion. When he was demonstrating to you how it worked, you took your chance, having lured him to an address on the pretence that it was where you lived.

"You were wearing some form of NHS uniform, suggesting that you worked at a hospital. But you took your opportunity to push him off that bike and take it from him, betraying the trust that he had placed in you."