A man pushed a postman over a hedge and punched him, a court heard.

Christopher Tillotson, 19, of Northgate, Crawley, attacked the postman when he called at his house while doing his round.

Graham Thorn, prosecuting, told Crawley magistrates yesterday the victim went to hospital suffering from a bloody nose.

Martin Durnin, defending, said Tillotson launched the attack following an incident the day before.

He said: "He didn't attack him because he was a postman but as a result of comments made towards his partner."

Tillotson, who pleaded guilty to a charge of causing actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing, will be sentenced on November 14.