Elle Bright was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court

by Julia Roberts

A teenage girl who repeatedly kicked and punched a man in Maidstone town centre, leaving him with a fractured eyebrow bone and ankle, has been locked up for three years.

Elle Bright, 15, of Kingsnorth Road, Ashford, had been drinking when she viciously assaulted Derek Bovell at the junction of Week Street and Earl Street in August last year.

She struck him to the shoulder with a bottle before punching him to the ground. The teenager then repeatedly kicked Mr Bovell to his body.

CCTV footage played at Maidstone Crown Court showed a man then attacking Mr Bovell. Bright briefly walked away, only to return to attack him again.

Mr Bovell was left unconscious and sprawled on the ground until a passer-by came to help him. The court heard his ankle has still not fully healed.

Bright, who has a previous conviction for violence and was said to be a regular cannabis user, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

An order banning her identification had been made at a previous crown court hearing.

However, that was successfully challenged by the KM Group and the judge agreed that the public interest in knowing Bright's identity "substantially outweighed" potential disadvantages to her and her family.

Sentencing her to three years in a young offenders' institution, Judge Jeremy Carey said he accepted she may have been subjected to "unpleasant remarks" from the victim, who himself had been drinking.

But the judge added: "You could, and should have walked away, Instead, very much in keeping with the way you have been behaving, you took matters into your own hands in a frighteningly violent way."

Judge Carey said the offence was aggravated by the use of a foot as a weapon and it occurred in a public place in front of numerous people.

Following the attack, Bright was tracked through the town by CCTV operators. She later approached a police patrol car and said: "I think you are looking for me."

The man also involved in the attack remains at large and cannot be identified for legal reasons.