A youth who beat up 80s pop icon Steve Strange and stole a bracelet given by Kylie Minogue has been found guilty of robbery.

The ex-Visage frontman was battered on the head with a baseball bat or a knuckleduster, causing an "immense amount" of bleeding, Inner London Crown Court was told.

Mr Strange, from Porthcawl, south Wales, said he was set upon in a London street after refusing to give �5 to the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons and who denied robbery and causing grievous bodily harm.

I remember a punch to my face - there was an immense amount of blood Steve Strange

The youth battered the singer repeatedly, rifled through his pockets and took the item - a gift from the Australian star, with whom he shares a birthday - before leaving him in a pool of blood.

Mr Strange - now a music producer and DJ - suffered an "immense amount" of bleeding and still has flashbacks, it was said.

A passing motorist saw Mr Strange being robbed and punched repeatedly in Great Russell Street, Holborn, on 7 March, 2001, at 0500 GMT.

He had been returning from performing a DJ set at the Caf� De Paris with a friend.

He told the court on Wednesday the teenager, from Plaistow, east London, was "quite violent".

'Aggressive'

"A guy came up to us and said he wanted a fiver," he said.

"I do give money to the homeless quite often, but this character just seemed to be very aggressive.

Stolen items

�200 in cash Cheque book Mobile phone Credit card Kylie's bracelet

"The next thing I remember was something went over my head. Something went into my hair ... I fell straight to the ground.

"I was concussed but I do remember a punch going to my face. There was an immense amount of blood everywhere."

The former singer initially feared he had lost sight in one eye because he could not open it for days.

He was taken to hospital by a taxi driver. He needed 18 stitches in his face and also suffered whiplash.

The robber had also taken �200, a cheque book, a mobile phone and a credit card.

Clubs

Judge Nicholas Philpot adjourned sentencing to 14 February for reports into mental disabilities suffered by the defendant, who was remanded on bail.

Defending, Tom Forster asked the judge to consider making a hospital order, a guardianship order under the Mental Health Act or a supervision treatment order.

Steve Strange had a top ten hit with Fade to Grey in the 1980s with the band Visage, which he fronted.

He also ran clubs in London, including Billy's, Blitz and the Camden Palace.