A SIXTEEN-year-old boy who launched an unprovoked attack on a soldier recovering from Afghanistan bomb blast injuries has been locked up for six months.

The youth punched Private Jamie Laws to the ground in Cowes, Isle of Wight, in October, a court heard.

The soldier, from the Kentbased Royal Regiment of Scotland, had been caught in an explosion which badly damaged his arm. As a result, he lost the full use of his hand and could not have defended himself.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was wearing motorcycle gloves with carbon fibre knuckles when he attacked Pte Laws, 22, who had recently been repatriated from Afghanistan for emergency surgery.

The teenager pleaded guilty to assault and was sent to the detention and training order at Newport Youth Court.