A TEENAGER who claims his family had been tormented by a group of youths assaulted one of the gang at a party.

The boy, 17, claimed he had been involved in a two-year feud with several other teenagers, which boiled over at an event in the Beehive pub, Bishop Auckland, in February.

Darlington Youth Court heard how the defendant - who cannot be named for legal reasons - punched his 15-year-old victim, leaving him with cuts and bruising.

Barry Smith, prosecuting, said the assault followed a row that had raged all night.

"The victim says that when he was inside the building this young man came over to him and asked him to go outside and fight," he said.

The victim claimed he did not want to fight, but the defendant waited for him outside.

Mr Smith continued: "The defendant began pushing him and punching him with both clenched fists - it is not known how many times.

"He went to Bishop Auckland General Hospital and was seen to have suffered a black left eye, swollen cheek and cuts inside his mouth." Claire Brinton, mitigating, said the abuse meted out to the boy and his family by the gang was so bad they were considering moving to Scotland.

She said: "He has been pursued by this group with baseball bats and other weapons in the past. There have been up to 20 incidents involving this group of youths, many of whom are well known to the court.

"The defendant accepts he was wrong that night but, putting it into context, he lost his temper and lashed out through frustration."

Magistrates gave the boy a three-month extension to his current referral order, and ordered him to pay £20 compensation to his victim.

He was also ordered to pay £50 court costs.