THE victim of a street attack recognised the teenager who assaulted him when a leaflet containing anti-social behaviour order pictures dropped through his letterbox.

University student Mark Richards saw young yob Lewis Heighton's face on the council publication a fortnight later and immediately called police.

Heighton, 19, was arrested in connection with the late-night attack in a Middlesbrough town centre car park, but denied punching Mr Richards.

When the case reached court, Heighton admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and breaching his anti-social behaviour order.

He was also convicted of two separate breaches of the order, and was sentenced for all the matters by a judge at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.

Judge Tony Briggs jailed Heighton after he told him: "Anti-social behaviour orders are there to achieve an objective - to prevent anti-social behaviour.

"On three separate occasions, it is perfectly plain that you acted in deliberate breach of those, and it seems to me that custody is inevitable."

The judge, who described the November 24 attack on Mr Richards as entirely gratuitous, jailed Heighton for 15 months.

The court heard that Mr Richards had been out in Middlesbrough town centre with friends, and Heighton was with one of them.

Sue Jacobs, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Richards did not know Heighton.

During the evening out, Mr Richards objected to Heighton and a friend making threats against another drinker, and the pair had words.

As the group was heading home at 2am, Heighton approached Mr Richards in a car park and shouted: "Is it scrap on, then?"

Ms Jacobs said Mr Richards indicated he did not wish to fight, but Heighton lunged forward and repeatedly punched him in the face.

Doctors needed to put ten stitches in a mouth wound, and Mr Richards was left having difficulty sleeping and worrying about the future.

Days after the assault, Mr Richards received the Asbo leaflet, and Heighton, of The Garth, Coulby New- ham, Middlesbrough, was arrested.

While on bail, Heighton twice breached his Asbo on April 11 this year when he congregated and caused trouble with youths in nearby Marton.

Benjamin Boucher-Giles, in mitigation, said Heighton disputed that his actions -swearing on one occasion, and egging on two fighting youths - were breaches.

Mr Boucher-Giles said his client's offending was slowing down and that he was now working with a relative as a gardner.