TWO youths waylaid and attacked a cleaner as he pushed his bicycle home from work one night.

Durham Crown Court heard the “diminutive” victim, measuring only 5ft, a Cantonese speaker, originally from Hong Kong, has very limited command of English.

Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said he had just finished a shift cleaning at a Peterlee factory on Friday March 14, and was making his way home after calling into a store for food.

He was confronted by Scott William Donkin and his younger cousin, Jordan Tomlinson, on Passfield Way, at about 11pm.

Donkin took hold of his handle bars, before asking him for money.

Despite being told he had none, Donkin checked the man’s pockets, then kicked his legs, thrust him to the ground and punched him several times in the face.

The mountain bike was thrown to the ground, kicked and stamped on, causing £260 worth of damage.

Tomlinson’s only contribution to the violence was said to be pushing the victim.

The injured man went to a nearby house for help after his tormentors left.

He suffered a bloody nose, a black eye plus other cuts and abrasions, and was accompanied to a walk-in health centre by police.

Donkin was also at the health centre, claiming to have suffered an injury inflicted by the victim, but Mr Dryden said this appeared to be an attempt to “deflect the blame.”

He was arrested and found to be carrying a billiard ball in a sock in his coat pocket.

Donkin, 21, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, carrying an offensive weapon and criminal damage to the bike.

Seventeen-year-old Tomlinson admitted affray.

Donkin’s admissions were on the basis he forgot he had the ball in sock, a dog walking toy, but he conceded he sometimes carried it “for protection”.

A trial of issue was to be staged, but his account was eventually accepted by Judge Christopher Prince, after the court heard the Crown could not challenge that account.

Both Donkin, of Little Eden, and Tomlinson, of Avon Road, both Peterlee, were bailed to return for sentence on Friday October 17.