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

CCTV footage shows Paul Jones grabbing his victim from behind during the attack onboard the 174 bus by Dagenham Heathway station.

Jones, of Dorking Walk, Romford, pleaded guilty to common assault at Romford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and was given a 12-month conditional discharge.

A further charge of racially or religiously aggravated assault was dropped after Jones’s victim 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.”

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

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 the incident, which happened on December 8, was a “minor” offence where no injuries had been caused.

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