USERS of social networking sites were warned they could face prosecution after it emerged two schoolgirl murder suspects have been widely named.

Teesside's most senior judge issued the threat during a court hearing to set out a timetable for progress in the case of the killing of Angela Wrightson.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, said people who use sites such as Facebook and Twitter had illegally revealed the identities of the two teenagers.

He said a warning needed to go out to the community - and the wider public - that breaches of the law on naming juveniles would be dealt with severely.

The girls - aged 13 and 14 - were arrested following the discovery of Ms Wrightson's body at her home in Hartlepool in the early hours of Tuesday last week.

The 39-year-old victim was said by Cleveland Police to have suffered "substantial" injuries and significant blood loss in an assault inside the house.

A cordon sealing off Stephen Street was put up while detectives and scenes of crime experts looked for clues to a killing which has shocked the town.

Ms Wrightson, who had a problem with alcohol, was well-known to the police and the courts, as her drunken behaviour often got her into trouble.

The two girls accused of her killing were not required to be present at Teesside Crown Court for what was effectively and administrative hearing.

Their interests were represented today (Thursday, December 18) by two experienced QCs, Jamie Hill and John Elvidge, as well as solicitors from local law firms.

Last week, the teenagers appeared at Teesside Youth Court and the crown court separately, and were remanded into secure care in County Durham and Yorkshire.

Prosecutor Shaun Dodds said a date for the case to return for a possible plea hearing is likely to be set administratively in the new year.

Ms Wrightson - one of nine siblings who grew up in care - was described as "really kind and lovely, but vulnerable" by neighbours after her death.

One neighbour said: "The thought that someone would kill her is really sickening. It was a big shock. Angela was totally harmless, and could be really kind."

Another family man living nearby said: "She was a kind, trusting, decent woman who was lovely when she was sober, but she was vulnerable in drink."