A TEENAGER was recovering yesterday after she was the victim of a bizarre late-night drive-by attack.

The 18-year-old, who has not been identified, was walking home from a night out in Durham City when a bottle was thrown at her head from a passing car.

The attack happened at about 1.15am on Saturday as the girl walked up the path in Potters Bank, on the south-western outskirts of the city.

She had been out with a friend and the pair had just parted company when the assault took place.

A car swept past and someone inside threw the bottle out of the window. It hit the teenager on the neck, knocking her to the ground, then shattered on the pavement.

The car sped off towards the traffic lights outside the Duke of Wellington pub.

A passer-by stopped to help the victim, who was shocked and dazed, and called an ambulance.

Paramedics took her to the University Hospital of North Durham, where she was treated for a neck injury and sent home.

PC Louise Gore, of Durham City police, said: "The bottle appears to have been thrown deliberately from the vehicle.

"Although the passer-by did not witness the incident, there were other people on foot who might have seen what happened, or who noticed the car involved."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0845 60 60 365, or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.