Youth’s revenge attack on boy

A LITTLEPORT teenager carried out a revenge attack on a boy in the town, punching him in the face and knocking him over.

And on Thursday magistrates ordered the 16-year-old to pay £30 compensation to his victim.

"The teenager disliked the boy, because he had hit him on a previous occasion, and he wanted to get his own back," Ely Youth Court heard from prosecutor Delia Matthews.

In a version of events disputed by the 16-year-old, she claimed that the teenager pushed his victim in the chest, and threw his cap on the ground.

There were two more pushes in the chest, she said, and when the boy tried to call his father, the 16-year-old threatened to knock the phone out of his hand.

"The teenager pushed the boy over the hedge and punched and kicked him when he was on the floor," she said. "The boy tried to protect himself, but his attacker managed to punch him several more times."

Mrs Matthews said two more males had been involved in the attack, but the 16-year-old had claimed sole responsibility for the incident.

The victim suffered from a cut, swollen and bloody mouth, an injured arm and a lump to the back of his head.

The 16-year-old only admitted punching the boy once, causing him to fall over. He had apologised for his behaviour.

Mitigating, solicitor Jacqui Baldwin said the teenager did not accept the facts outlined by Mrs Matthews.

"There was just one punch, he does not accept there were kicks or further punches," she said.

"He does now accept that two other people were involved. He did not want to "dob" on his mates, but now accepts that others may have been involved after he left the scene."

Accepting the teenager's version of events, presiding magistrate Sue Thompson told him: "You don't have a previous record for this sort of thing, and we hope it was a one-off."

The teenager was ordered to pay £30 costs.