THREE teenagers who were involved in a “brutal and grotesque” attack during which a youth was punched and kicked while he was on the ground have been given suspended sentences.

The victim of the assault was standing outside Domino’s Pizza when a car containing five young men, who were shouting abuse, drove past, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The car turned round and headed back towards the victim and the three defendants got out of the vehicle, said Paul Evans, prosecuting.

There was a verbal alteracation between one of the occupants of the car and the victim and cigarette ash was flicked at the victim.

There was a tussle between the two men during which they both fell to the ground and the victim was then assaulted by the three defendants.

As a result of the incident he suffered a gash to the back of his head.

The three defendants, who were all 17 at the time of the attack and cannot be named because of their age, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.

The youth who initiated the attack by getting the driver of the car to turn round and head back to the victim and flicked ash in the victim’s face was given ten months detention in a young offenders’ institution suspended for 24 months. He was also ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work in the community

Another of the defendants was given three months detention suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work in the community and the third defendant was given four months detention suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 120 hours unpaid work in the community.

All three defendants were each ordered to pay �200 compensation to the victim of the assault and �100 towards prosecution costs.

Sentencing the trio Recorder Christopher Morgan described the attack as “grotesque and brutal.”