A MAN rained down a flurry of punches on a friend he said had been bullying him.

Aaron Lydford, 22, bumped into the victim at a bus stop in Marks Tey and the pair decided to have a cigarette.

But Lydford then attacked the other man, punching him in the face and continuing to attack him while on the ground.

The victim said the incident was completely unprovoked, but Lydford insisted he had been agitated first.

Rima Begum, prosecuting at Colchester Magistrates' Court said:"As he was smoking, the victim got his phone out and says the defendant then punched him to the left side of the face.

"He was taken aback by this, and the defendant then grabbed him by the hood and pushed his head towards the ground.

"He slipped and fell with both of them ending up on the floor.

"The defendant then went on to punch him four more times."

The victim - who was left with cuts to his mouth and a bloodied face - then went to walk away but released his phone and keys had fallen out of his pocket.

As he turned back Lydford initially apologised for what happened, but then seemed to get angry again and started screaming and shouting.

The victim was picked up by his stepfather, and the pair saw Lydford as they drove him.

They were helped by a member of the public to restrain him until police arrived.

Lydford admitted assault during his court appearance.

Raph Piggott, mitigating said: "He suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and regularly gets picked on.

"He says he is regularly asked to do things and buy things with the promise he will be paid back but then no money arrives.

"He says the victim put his fingers in his own mouth and then into his which is obviously fairly disgusting.

"He then snapped and reacted in this way but accepts he cannot remember the whole incident."

Lydford, of De Grey Road, Colchester, has a previous conviction for assault.

Magistrates handed him a 12 month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work.

He must also attend 30 rehabilitation requirement days.

Lydford must also pay £105 costs, and a £90 victim surcharge.

No compensation was awarded in an attempt to not inflame the situation between the pair again, however Lydford is banned from contacting the victim and going to his address for a year.