19 year-old ASBO yob with 100 convictions is finally locked up

Anthony Kerrigan, 19, began offending when he was just 13 and was handed an ASBO in March 2007 - but was spotted breaking into a car in the early hours of the morning by John Prendergast, who he then attacked.

Mr Prendergast had tried to alert the car’s owners by knocking on their front door - but was pounced upon by Kerrigan and a friend.

During a terrifying attack they kicked him twice in the face and pushed him over a wall - and Kerrigan sank his teeth into his back leaving marks on his flesh even though he was wearing a jacket and shirt.

It was the latest in the teenager’s criminal career, which began when he was 13 and saw him become York’s “most arrested” person when he was only 15.

Jailing him for 18 months at York Crown Court, Recorder Mark Bury said: “One of these bites was with considerable force. The nature of this attack, being carried out by night when there were two assailants, and the details of the assault itself make it quite impossible to deal with this other than by passing an immediate custodial sentence.

Prosecuting, Heather Gilmore said: “Mr Prendergast was walking home in York when he saw the defendant and another person trying to get into a white Suzuki.

“They told him ‘head down, keep walking’ and he started to walk away, but the two followed him and pushed him over a low brick wall into a garden.

“He tried to knock on the house’s front door, but they knocked him down and Kerrigan kicked him twice in the face.

“Then he caught Mr Prendergast in a headlock and as he struggled to get free, he bit him, leaving his DNA on Mr Prendergast’s jacket.”

Defending, Glenn Parson said Kerrigan had a difficult upbringing that led to him taking drink and drugs. He claimed the offence was “out of character”.

Kerrigan, of no fixed address, admitted causing actual bodily harm, vehicle interference and two charges of breaching his ASBO. His accomplice has never been caught.