Dersingham man Jonathan Kidman in King’s Lynn court after assaulting two juveniles on bus after ‘voices told him to’

A 38-year-old attacked two young boys on a bus after he “heard voices saying to hit them”.

Jonathan Kidman, of Mountbatten Road in Dersingham, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

He pleaded guilty to one count of assault by beating and another of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He committed the offences while on a bus travelling to Lynn along the A149 on December 15. Crown prosecutor Asif Akram told magistrates that both victims were juveniles.

The two boys were “talking and joking” when they were subjected to the assaults.

In a statement read out in court, one of the victims said the attack came “out of the blue” when he got hit “very hard” on the left side of his face.

He was then struck again “a few more times”, before the man turned to the other boy and punched him on the forehead.

The first boy then attempted to put himself between Kidman and his friend, but ended up falling down at the front of the bus in doing so. At this point, the defendant grabbed the boy’s neck and scratched him.

During the ordeal, the boy also obtained a fractured thumb.

Following the assaults, Kidman told the police that he had “heard voices saying to hit them”.

In mitigation, solicitor Andrew Cogan said Kidman had suffered a “psychotic episode” on the bus as a result of failing to take his medication while battling long-term mental health issues.

Magistrates have committed his case to the crown court for sentencing, deeming his offences to be “so serious” that the punishment needs to be bigger than they have the powers to impose.

Kidman will therefore appear at Norwich Crown Court on March 4 to learn his fate, and has been released on unconditional bail until that date.