A 16-YEAR-OLD girl hit her on-off boyfriend on the head with a rock after he had followed her thousands of miles across the world.

Swindon magistrates heard that the girl's family moved from the other side of the world last September to escape from her boyfriend.

Mike Pulsford, defending, told the court that the relationship between them had started in their early teens.

They had been at school together.

The relationship had been violent at times, and in one dispute the girl's nose had been broken, claimed Mr Pulsford.

He said: "She came to Britain in September 2004 with her parents to escape from her boyfriend."

In February he had followed her to Swindon and the friendship had been resurrected.

The court heard on April 2 the two had argued during a night out at Angelo's nightclub in Fleet Street. The boyfriend had taken the keys to his bedsit off her and gone home in a mood.

Prosecutor Richard Thomas said he heard his girlfriend banging on his window and, being reluctant to let her in, told her to go away.

He said: "A rock was then thrown through the window of the bedsit.

"She was screaming and shouting. She came through the window, picked up the rock and struck him on the forehead.

"He was in considerable pain and his wound was bleeding profusely."

The girl was arrested and admitted to police what she had done.

Mr Pulsford said the whole family will be returning home at the end of this year, once again with the intention of breaking up the relationship.

Simon Wolfensohn, chairman of the bench, told the girl: "If this was an offence committed by an adult, you would be looking at a lengthy prison sentence.

"But it was a single blow and you were obviously immediately upset by what you had done."

After pleading guilty to assault and criminal damage, she was given a referral order for six months, and will have to sign a contract designed to address her offending.

The couple cannot be named for legal reasons.