Girl, 13, terrorised terminally-ill neighbour in last weeks of his life

Marlene Thomson, 13, waged a campaign of harassment against householders, pelting windows with stones and eggs, and yelling abuse.

Peter Brock, 72, was so intimidated by her violent rages he became too scared to go outside in his wheelchair.

Thomson, who has played truant from school for more than five years, was named and shamed after being handed an Asbo..

She could face up to five years in jail if she breaks the terms of the two-year order by shouting or being aggressive towards neighbours.

Magistrates in Carlisle heard the teenager had plagued the final weeks of retired photographer Mr Brock's life.

He died in April from complications arising from his heart condition and diabetes but his widow, Sylvia, 57, said he was tormented in his final weeks.

She told yesterday how their once quiet street in Currock, Cumbria, had been turned into a war zone by Thomson and her friends.

She said: 'I used to take Peter out in his wheelchair, but they shouted at us, called us names, threatened to have the house trashed.

'Our windows were egged. It wasn't just us - hundreds of people have suffered, but I was angry because it got to to the point where Peter didn't want to go out.

'It's such a shame that in the last little bit of his life Peter was made to feel unhappy and insecure.

'One of the best things I could do for him last summer was get him into the garden while I worked on it.

'But in the end he was confined

Mrs Brock believes the behaviour of Thomson and her gang of friends exacerbated her husband's heart condition through stress.

One resident likened the way the youths gathered in the street outside her house to a 'medieval siege' and police were often called.

Magistrate Mary McArdle told Thomson: 'Everybody has a right to live in peace, but you caused your neighbours alarm, fear and distress because of your rude, abusive, and obnoxious behaviour.

'So much so that a woman with a terminally ill husband was left frightened to take a walk in the fresh air.'

Geoff Clapp, defending, said Thomson was easily influenced by older youths and did not have the strength of character to say 'No'.