A THUG who pushed a 60-year-old man with a crutch to the ground before kicking him in the face in an unprovoked attack must wait to discover his punishment.

Samuel Ackroyd, 20, of East Parade, York, pleaded guilty to assaulting the man - who suffered an injury to his face in the attack - at the taxi rank in St Saviourgate, in the city in October.

The victim said he was waiting to get a taxi when he noticed a man running towards him from Whip-ma-whop-ma-gate, York Magistrates Court heard.

He said he could not remember anything else after that until a girl was holding his head, but that he was in a lot of pain and had no idea what had happened.

He said the attack was unprovoked.

Witnesses said Ackroyd approached the man and pushed him hard on the back and that he fell to the floor. The court heard how the victim was then kicked in the face by Ackroyd.

The victim said the attack left him in "extreme pain", with a sore head and cuts to his lip and chin.

A doctor described the man's injury as a "soft tissue injury to the face" and the victim was given antibiotics.

The man said the assault affected him emotionally as well as physically and he had had trouble sleeping.

Chairman of the bench Phillip Kneafsey told Ackroyd, who has violent offences on his record: "Having taken into account the previous conviction for affray... this risks the assumption that you are a dangerous offender... and we feel you pose risk to the public."

Ackroyd will now be sentenced at York Crown Court.

Mitigating, Julian Tanikal said Ackroyd had no recollection of how the incident occurred, but that he was not disputing what happened.

He said: "He accepts he's drunk far too much and lost control. This young man has an alcohol problem.

"Nobody seems to be able to get to the reason behind it."

But Mr Tanikal said Ackroyd held down a job and had a stable relationship with his partner.

He said Ackroyd had brought to the court £500 in compensation for the victim.

Ackroyd was going through a "very difficult time" in October, as it was one year since his girlfriend had had to have an abortion, the court heard.