A terrified care assistant was grabbed from behind and sexually assaulted as she walked to work, a court heard.

The 25-year-old woman screamed for help as Tahir Afzal dragged her into bushes and threatened to kill her.

Afzal, 20, of Marshfield Street, Marshfields, Bradford, pleaded guilty to sexual assault in Oak Avenue, Manningham, Bradford, on May 7 last year. Prosecutor Martin Haigh told Bradford Crown Court the Polish woman was walking at 5.30am when Afzal began following her. He asked the time and her name, which she refused to give him. Afzal then seized the woman in a bear-hug and assaulted her.

As she shouted for help, he pulled her into bushes and threatened to kill her.

Mr Haigh told the court that she feared she was about to be raped and murdered. As she lay screaming on the ground, Afzal ran off.

The woman rang her mother who found her upset and terrified and called the police. Officers took the woman around the area in a patrol car and she spotted Afzal near the Valley Parade football ground.

The court heard that fibres from Afzal’s mosque were found on the woman’s scarf and jumper.

She suffered reddening to her jaw, a sore lip and tender ligaments in her neck.

It was more than two months before she ventured out alone and she needed counselling. She now carried an attack alarm and had lost her trust in people, Mr Haigh said.

Yunus Valli, Afzal’s barrister, said his client was not living with his family at the time and was taking alcohol and cannabis. He told his probation officer he wanted to ‘get back’ at his relatives and make them feel sorry for him.

The offence was totally out of character and Afzal felt sincere remorse.

The judge, Recorder Graham Hyland QC, told Afzal: “You carried out a very unpleasant sexual assault on a vulnerable young woman.”

He was sentenced to 12 months’ custody suspended for two years, with supervision. Afzal must attend the Sex Offenders’ Treatment Programme and pay his victim £500 compensation.

The judge made a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning Afzal from contact with her and he must sign the sex offenders’ register for ten years.