A thug knocked an 85-year-old woman to the ground and left her with a broken nose when she commented on his “stupid” attack on a phone box in the Black Country.

The victim spotted Mustafa Shafi, aged 32, shouting and being aggressive inside the call box as he banged the receiver on the glass, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

As the woman walked past, she said to her elderly male companion: “What a stupid thing to do.” Shafi then “flew” out of the phone box, in Cinder Bank, Netherton, and screamed and shouted at his victim, asking: “Did you call me stupid?”, the court heard.

Miss Kate Thomas, prosecuting, said the victim was “extremely scared” and Shafi then used his full body force to knock her to the ground, causing her to strike an open shop door.

Shafi also tried to punch the victim’s companion, but he dodged the attack.

A barber working in a shop rushed out to help and described Shafi, of Swan Street, Netherton, as being “irate and with his fists clenched”. As well as the injury to her nose, the victim was left with two black eyes and a gash to her head.

She needed treatment at Birmingham’s Heartlands Hopsital after the attack, which happened at around 2.30pm on June 19 last year.

Shafi admitted wounding and told police in interview that the victim had “invaded his space”. In a statement read to the court, the victim said: “Physically, I’m not the same, nor will I be. I’ve lost the strength in my left hand and I can’t pick up a saucepan or washbasket.

“I have to take painkillers every day and my nose is still sore.”

Judge Martin Walsh gave bail to Shafi, who is schizophrenic, while his mental state is assessed ahead of sentencing on February 7.

But the judge warned: “All sentencing options are open to the court.”