A 46-year-old man has been spared jail after drunkenly assaulting a student on a bus.

Paul Jones, of Romford, pleaded guilty to common assault and was handed a 12-month conditional discharge at Romford Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

CCTV footage from the bus showed how the Dorking Walk resident grabbed Ahmed Ali from behind and assaulted him on the 174 bus by Dagenham Heathway station on December 8.

A further charge of racially or religiously aggravated assault was dropped after Mr Ali failed to appear in court to give evidence.

Prosecuting lawyer Thomas John commented: “It was in the darkness at Dagenham Heathway, Mr Jones had consumed a bottle of wine before he boarded.”

Mr John added that the bus was full of passengers who were “inconvenienced” from having to wait for police arrival.

Pronouncing his sentence, the chair of the bench added: “We have taken into account what your defence lawyer has said and we have looked at your antecedents.

“We are going to do this by way of a conditional discharge for common assault.

“You aren’t being punished today, however if you commit any other offence during the next 12 months you can be punished.”

He added that it was a “minor” offence where no injuries had been caused.

Jones was asked to pay a victim surcharge of £15 and court costs of £85.