A girl has been put on a nightly curfew after she twice attacked young people at night in public places.

York Youth Court heard that on the first occasion she crashed her 16-year-old victim's head against a glass door causing £43 worth of damage.

On the second occasion, said prosecutor Jane Chadwick, she punched and held a young woman in a headlock and attacked her on the head and face.

The girl's solicitor, Daniel Fischbach, warned that she would re-offend unless action is taken to curb the affect a troubled childhood has had on her.

The girl was sentenced just weeks after the government revealed that violence by teenagers on teenagers has risen sharply.

Youth Justices told the girl, aged 17, they had originally being deciding how long they should lock her up for.

But after reading reports on her and listening to Mr Fischbach they had decided to put her on a 12-month supervision order, ordered her to do 20 hours reparation work and put her on a nightly curfew every Friday and Saturday for the next three months. She was also ordered to pay £55 costs.

The girl from the Selby area pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm to the young woman on Micklegate car park in Selby at 10pm on Saturday, September 30, and causing actual bodily harm to the 16-year-old babysitter in Mirkhill Road late at night on June 25, 1999 as she was walking home, and criminal damage.

She was originally given a conditional discharge for the 1999 offences which she breached by the later offence and was re-sentenced for all offences.

Mr Fischbach said the girl had pent-up feelings of anger and frustration because she had been physically attacked by her parents and another man.

She was also suffering from feelings of rejection after her mother threw her out early last year.

He urged the justices not to lock her up as he felt that she needed help in overcoming her emotional difficulties to stop her offending.