A PARANOID schizophrenic has been remanded to a secure unit after stabbing a man to death at a bus stop.

Kamuzu Munroe was 19 when he killed Jaspreet Singh in Ilford Town Centre on March 31 last year as he was waiting for a number 369 night bus.

The Old Bailey heard on Monday that Jaspreet, 25, got into a rowe with the teenager at the bus stop in Chapel Road at 1am and threw the first punch before being stabbed through the heart.

Munroe fled the scene while his victim was taken to King George Hospital in Goodmayes, but died shortly after arrival.

Munroe, now 20, was due to stand trial for the murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

Although psychiatrists disagreed whether he was mentally ill at the time of the stabbing, they all agree he now suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

Prosecutor Rebecca Poulet QC said the Crown had decided to accept the plea after consulting the family of the dead man.

She added: "Munroe accepts that he was illegally carrying the knife and using it without any warning against the deceased.

"There is no question of self defence. He is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and should be regarded as posing a future risk of violence."

Munroe, previously of, Pittman Gardens, Ilford, is now being treated in a secure unit under an interim hospital order.

The Common Serjeant of London, Judge Brian Barker QC, adjourned sentence until May 23 this year.

He added: "This is an anxious and difficult case for everybody. The proper course is to adjourn this matter.

"Mr Munroe accepts that lawful self defence is not an issue. I am anxious the deceased's family are aware of the process of the court and they understand the position and what is likely to happen. Everybody extends sympathy to them.

"It is also clear this young man was ill at the time and has been seriously ill since and needs treatment in the near future.

"The proper course is not to sentence now but to review the case so the court can have the best information as to his condition."