A homeless man with an alcohol problem who groped a female student on the street has been ordered to pay £780 in compensation.

Konrad Dziekonski, 31, currently residing at the Salvation Army hostel in Blackfriars Road, approached the 20-year-old woman on May 15 as she was walking home from work in London Road, Morden.

The court heard how the woman had been walking toward Morden underground station at approximately 6.15pm when she felt a "firm, deliberate hand" on her crotch.

Two Sainsbury’s store detectives said they saw Dziekonski grab the woman’s bottom and run off and chased him pinning him down until police arrived on the scene.

A statement from the victim read out in court said: "I walked away from him as I felt very distressed by this time.

"The shock had hit me."

Dziekonski’s solicitor Lambie Lefroy Missouri, said the defendant had been turning to alcohol in order to cope with an extended period of homelessness and unemployment since arriving in the UK from Poland.

The defendant, speaking with the aid of an interpretor, sat with his head bowed as Miss Missouri explained that he was ashamed of his actions and was willing to pay compensation.

Miss Missouri said: "The defendant is very ashamed of himself and very embarrassed.

"He really cannot remember the incident because of his alcohol consumption."

She described his work ethic as "exceptional" because, even with a language barrier and during periods of homelessness, he had still managed to find temporary work.

Dziekonski was sentenced to a two-year community order and ordered to pay compensation of £780 to his victim at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court on June 7, after pleading guilty to sexual assault.

He was also ordered to get alcohol treatment and complete a sexual offence treatment programme.