A WOMAN whose dog walks had been terrorised by gangs of teenagers "lost her cool" and attacked four of them with chains, a court heard yesterday.

Harrogate magistrates were told how 47-year-old Theresa Frances Hunt swung a pair of dog chains round and round, striking a 15-year-old girl, two boys of the same age and one aged 13 as she chased them from outside her home in St Marygate, Ripon, North Yorkshire, into the city's market square on Sunday, November 7.

Hunt pleaded guilty to four counts of assault and one of damage to the door of a shop into which two youths fled to escape.

Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting, said the chains struck one youth on the head, another on the thighs, with other blows landing on backs and arms.

Police arrived to find Hunt drunk and dishevelled. She readily admitted guilt and said a group in the park near her home would not leave when she wanted to take her two dogs for a walk.

Richard Buchanan, in mitigation, said teenagers often gathered in the play area beside St Marygate car park, causing a nuisance to residents and passers-by.

Mr Buchanan said Hunt lived alone with her dogs, one of which had been severely traumatised by events.

The court was told that at times, Hunt had been a prisoner in her flat because of the menacing and abusive way in which the groups, seemingly out of control, behaved.

Hunt was now seeking to exchange her council flat for accommodation on the other side of Ripon or in a surrounding village.

Magistrates ordered probation reports and bailed Hunt until December 13, and said all sentencing options, including prison, would be considered.