A Muslim “bully” grabbed a schoolboy by the throat and threw him to the ground for hugging his girlfriend in the street, a court has heard.

Michael Coe, 35, of Devenish Road, Greenwich, spotted the two 16-year-olds cuddling on the pavement in Wilson Road, Upton Park, while driving.

He allegedly confronted the pair, demanding to know if they were Muslims, before insulting the girl.

Coe, currently on trial accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and battery, was said to have grabbed the boy by the throat, causing him to black out, before he woke up bleeding on the floor.

When passing schoolteacher Boutho Siwela tried help the couple, Coe allegedly attacked him too.

Prosecuting Jonathan Polnay described the April 15 attack as “completely unjustifiable” at Southwark Crown Court today.

“This case is about what started as unpleasant bullying with religious overtones in the street, followed by an attack by this 35-year-old man on a 16-year-old schoolboy,” he told the jury

“This was followed by a further assault on a schoolteacher, a nearby bystander, who came to his aid when he saw what was going on.

“The victim was, and is, a schoolboy and, in the early evening, he was there with his girlfriend standing on the pavement in the street, cuddling each other in the street.

“They had the misfortune that, of all the people to drive by, it was this defendant who was driving by in a car.”

Coe denies the two charges, claiming he assaulted the 16-year-old boy in self-defence.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he was hugging his girlfriend goodbye when Coe shouted “let that little schoolgirl go”.

He later demanded: “Why are you acting like a punk?” before attacking the boy.

“Within seconds of saying that I felt a hand on my neck and after that I don’t remember anything else,” the teenager said.

“I woke up – there was blood on my hands and I could feel blood on my face, my head was throbbing and I was very dizzy and also felt sick.”

The trial continues.