Two teenagers have been locked up for attacking a man in Colchester's Castle Park.

Adam St John was punched and kicked after trouble flared in the park last summer, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.

One of his attackers had been ordered by a court to pay Mr St John compensation for an earlier incident.

But when Mr St John said he was looking forward to spending the money, he was hit.

Nikki Wilkinson, 18, of Francis Way, Colchester, and Simon Neilson, also 18, of no fixed address, admitted causing Mr St John actual bodily harm when they appeared in court for sentence yesterday and were sent to a young offenders' institution for 18 months each.

The court heard that Mr St John was in the park with some friends on July 31, when he saw Wilkinson and Neilson.

Words were exchanged and Mr St John said he was going to enjoy spending the £50 compensation Wilkinson had been told to pay him, John Bishop, prosecuting, said.

Wilkinson and Neilson started punching and kicking Mr St John who fell to the ground. When he got up, he was hit again before the attack stopped, the court heard.

Defence counsel for the teenagers said they were sorry for the assault and had shown genuine remorse.

Published Wednesday, January 15, 2003

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