A REMORSEFUL teenager had a punch-up with his pal over a £10 debt, which left him with serious head injuries.

The brawl started outside South East Essex College, Southend. It led to the 16-year-old victim hitting the floor and cracking his head on the pavement.

A crowd of horrified students gathered, just before noon on Monday, February 8, and surrounded the stricken and seriously injured lad.

He was rushed to Southend Hospital with serious head injuries, as police sealed off the crime scene.

Bob Rowlingson, prosecuting at Southend Youth Court, said: “The injuries were described as a bleed on the brain and a crack to the base of his skull.

“It was more than a month before he was in a position where he was able to give a statement to the police because of his injuries.

“As a result of the injuries received, he said he’d been left with a hearing loss in his left ear and facial nerve damage.”

Anne Blythe-Cook, mitigating, said the pair had been friends and were simply “bickering” about a £10 debt, which the defendant owed the victim.

This led the victim to push her client three times before he retaliated by pushing him back.

When he realised what he had done he handed himself in to police. She said: “I understand he was extremely worried, and extremely upset about what happened and went straight to the police station.”

The 16-year-old defendant, from Witham, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to causing grevious harm without intent.

The court released him on unconditional bail while a pre-sentence report is prepared, which will consider custody as an option.

He will next appear at Witham Youth Court on June 8.

The Echo applied for the court to lift reporting restrictions, but was refused.