A 17-year-old girl standing in a taxi queue was picked up from behind by her ankles spun round and then thrown to the floor.

Blackburn magistrates heard her assailant then tore off his shirt and shouted at the girl and her brother to come and hit him.

And they were told that in a separate incident on a different day Danny Lee Riley launched an unprovoked attack on a taxi driver.

Riley, 21, of Beechwood Drive, Blackburn, was jailed for five months.

He had pleaded guilty to two assaults, two charges of criminal damage and driving while disqualified.

Emma Kehoe, prosecuting, said the 17-year-old student had been waiting for a taxi in the early hours of the morning after a night out in Blackburn town centre.

"She suddenly felt someone grab her ankles and lift her completely off the ground," said Mrs Kehoe. "As she was lifted the person twisted her round and threw her backwards. She landed head first, banging her head on the concrete kerbstone."

The attack on the taxi driver happened in King Street when he was forced to stop his vehicle because of an incident in the carriageway. Riley kicked the car three times and when the driver got out of his car Riley grabbed him round the throat.

The second criminal damage charge related to damage to a cell door at Greenbank Police station when he scratched "Danny Riley" on the door.

Michael Blacklidge, defending, said all matters were related to drink.

"If anyone should know better than to consume large amounts of alcohol it is this young man," said Mr Blacklidge. "His mother died of alcohol-related causes and that should have been a lesson in itself."