Judge tells of 'no-go areas'

Spiralling crime is turning parts of the capital into no-go areas dominated by "the drunken, the violent and the drugged", a judge has warned.

Judge Austin Issard-Davies's outburst came as he sentenced three teenage carjackers to a total of nearly 10 years for a vicious attack on a grandmother in Brixton.

Condemning the youths for their "casual violence?, he said: "The effect of this and similar incidents is that the streets of this city, instead of being places where its citizens can play a part in its rich and varied life, become the sole province of the drunken, the violent and the drugged.

"The message has to get out that considerable sentences follow automatically for offences like this.? Inner London crown court earlier heard how local education officer Edwina Hinnigan, 52, suffered a broken nose after she was punched repeatedly when she tried to resist robbers who attacked her in her car.

Junior Young, 19, from Brixton, described by the judge as the "prime mover", was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in a young offenders' institution after admitting the robbery last May, and an incident of dangerous driving. Ian Montague, 19, of Brixton, received a three-and-a-half years. Marlon Bayley, 17, of Brixton, must serve an 18-month detention and training sentence.

Outside court, Ms Hinnigan said: "I thought I was going to be killed. I think there needs to be a lot more police on the streets."