THE TEENAGE thug who terrorised a Newport estate was yesterday locked up for a year by magistrates.

The 16-year-old was sentenced at Cwmbran youth court yesterday for an unprovoked attack on a father-of-five who he punched and bit repeatedly.

The youth, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty to breaching an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO), assault, common assault and repeatedly failing to attend court.

He was given an ASBO last year which contained a specific condition forbidding him to harass Tony Nocivelli, 45, and his wife Donna, 30.

But the court heard that on October 7 last year he went to the couple's home in Darwin Street, Malpas.

Prosecutor Craig Bond said Mrs Nocivelli saw the defendant and another boy outside her house talking to her husband.

"She walked to the top of the stairs by her home and the youth came to within an inch of her face and then started punching her in the chest, screaming at her and punching her in the face and to her left eye," he said.

"He then rushed towards Mr Nocivelli with gritted teeth and anger in his face and started punching him to the face and body.

"He felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down to see the youth biting him in the chest."

Neighbours broke up the incident but the 16-year-old charged at him twice more, knocking him to the floor once and punching and biting him of both occasions.

Paul Philpott, defending, said: "This is clearly a serious offence and he has come to court expecting the worst.

"He has led an unstable life and is a young man with two sides. It seems to me beyond belief that the person I see here is responsible for these offences."

For breaching his ASBO, the youth was given a 12-month detention and training order to be served in a young offender's institution.

He was given an additional six months for assaulting Mr Nocivelli and four months for assaulting Mrs Nocivelli, both sentences to be served concurrently.

Magistrates refused to allow reporting restrictions protecting the youth's identity to be lifted.