A MAN who assaulted a bus driver and a passenger while drunk has been told he faces a stiff community sentence.

Paul Smith, 35, of Bridewell Lane, Bath, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault when he appeared before Kennet magistrates in Devizes on Tuesday.

Anna Humphreys, prosecuting, told the court that a bus had been waiting in Devizes Market Place in September last year.

Driver Peter Booth, 60, heard a loud noise and saw Smith staggering alongside the bus, banging on the windows, said Miss Humphreys.

Smith looked at the destination board, and then boarded the bus. He asked where the bus was going, lacing his inquiry liberally with four-letter expletives.

He then grabbed Mr Booth by the back of his neck and pulled his face towards him, knocking off his spectacles, said Miss Humphreys.

A passenger, 31-year-old Stephen McGann, tried to pull Smith off Mr Booth and was hit in the chest and the nose, although he did not suffer serious injury.

It was two months before the police caught up with Smith and, although he said he couldn't remember the incident, he said he could have done it while drunk.

Sambreen Arif, defending, said her client accepted that it must have been him and apologised for his behaviour, which was fuelled by alcohol.

The bench asked for report by the probation service, with a view to imposing a high community penalty. Smith was released on bail.