A MAN who chased two school girls and kicked down a garden gate before pushing them to the ground and head butting their friend has appeared at court.

Alan Francis Slaven, also known as ‘skinhead’ made lewd and suggestive comments to the girls who were on the bus home.

After one of the girls told the 28-year-old to shut up, he got off at the same stop before chasing them home and assaulting them.

John Garside, prosecuting at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court, said the two girls were travelling home on the busy bus when the defendant got on and started making racist comments.

He said one of the girls told him to "shut up", after which Slaven made his vulgar remarks.

Mr Garside added: “They arrive at their stop and get off, as does the defendant. He starts to follow them threatening to stamp on their heads and they are both very scared.

“They get to a car park and one of the girls uses a car to shield herself from the defendant while he is chasing her around it.

“A male friend sees the defendant, known as skinhead, chasing the girls around the car, and as he approaches the girls run off and the defendant runs after them.

"They run to one of their houses and into the back garden before the defendant kicks open the gate and pushes one of the girls to the ground, the other tries to punch him and he pushes her over.

"The male friend enters the garden and starts arguing with the defendant and both girls try to run. One of them picks up a strimmer to hit the defendant to get him off the friend who was telling him to leave."

A statement from the intervening friend said the defendant “got really close to the girls and was clenching his fists”.

He added: “He was pushing his forehead into mine and at one point headbutted me. I thought about retaliating but stopped myself.

"I was shouting at him to leave and eventually he produced a can of Carling, opened it and walked off."

One of the school girls, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said in a statement that the incident has left her in total shock, struggling to breathe and crying.

She said: "It should have been a normal journey home from school, hearing the comments was stressful enough but for him to turn on me was terrifying.

“I was so scared when he was chasing me and I didn’t know what to do, I thought he was going to hurt me.

“I also keep thinking what if. What if he had got into the house, thoughts keep going through my head."

John Clish, for Slaven, said: "The defendant is not someone who is without problems himself. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and multiple personality disorder and two or three months ago he was in a coma after suffering a heart attack.

"It's fair to say he has limited recollection of the incident, he was intoxicated. There was an exchange which has unfortunately caused him to act how he did."

Slaven, of Tyne Close, Darlington, pleaded guilty to three charges of assault by beating on October 1 and one charge of criminal damage to a cell after wiping excrement around the room.

Magistrates ordered a pre-sentence report from probation before passing sentence on Slaven.

He was given conditional bail and is due back at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court on November 19.