A TEENAGE girl who kicked a woman in the face and stole her handbag in an unprovoked attack burst into tears as she escaped jail.

Paige Stanney-Brown, 18, of Iffley Road, Oxford, was given a suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court on Friday for robbery and assault.

The court heard she was drunkenly walking along St Giles in the early hours of September 8 when she approached students Emma Threfethen and Kyan Pucks. She asked the women their names and when Miss Threfethen, who was sitting down, declined to answer another question, she kicked her hard in the face.

She then grabbed her handbag and, when challenged by Miss Pucks, punched her in the face.

Police arrested the teenager later that night and recovered the handbag.

Nick Cotter, defending, said of his client: “Quite frankly her upbringing has been a tragedy. Her parents are a disgrace. They have allowed her to bring herself up without any parental, emotional or spiritual help.

“In custody, she would meet people who would really send her off the tracks.”

Sentencing Stanney-Brown to 40 weeks’ jail, suspended for two years, Judge Anthony King said: “I hope you will realise how close you have come to going to a women’s prison.”