A DISABLED pensioner stabbed a boy after a campaign of terror by a gang of yobs, a court was told.

Frank Morton, 66, who is deaf and without speech, snapped after enduring the reign of "torment and taunting" by the hooligans who targeted him and his family.

Days before the 14-year-old was stabbed on March 24, Morton's son was beaten up by yobs outside his father's home in Lake Avenue, South Shields, South Tyneside.

Robin Patton, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court how Morton and his disabled wife had complained to the police about the abuse. Finally, Morton snapped.

"The nature of the allegation here is that he has stabbed a juvenile twice in the street after suffering an uncontrollable amount of torment and taunting," he said.

"In his police station interview, he gave a detailed account of the abuse he had been suffering for quite some time. He also described how his own 33-year-old son had been beaten up in the street a matter of days before he stabbed the youth."

Mr Patton said it was not the Crown's case that the victim was involved in the campaign against the Mortons.

Morton watched proceedings with the help of a sign language interpreter.

He admitted at an earlier hearing a charge of unlawful wounding but denied the more serious offence of wounding with intent to cause serious harm.

Mr Patton asked for the case to be adjourned to allow further investigations into the sustained campaign against the defendant and his family.

Judge Beatrice Bolton granted the request.

Morton was bailed to return to the same court for sentence on October 11.