A PREGNANT teenager has narrowly avoided jail for carrying out a mugging.

Despite her condition, a judge at York Crown Court sentenced Chloe Lynn Armitage to 80 hours community work, telling her "if you breach the order, you will be in prison."

The court heard yesterday how Armitage, of Vincent Way, Foxwood, York, who is six weeks pregnant - was only 19 at the time of the incident on September 16 last year.

Armitage pleaded guilty to charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, theft and common assault.

Prosecutor Robert Galley told the court that Armitage had stolen a mobile phone and £35 in cash in the attack. She later abandoned the haul in a nearby garden hedge.

He said Armitage, now 20, had told her probation officer that she was now pregnant.

Mr Galley said: "She has previous convictions for theft and, although she says she's now stopped drinking, she told the probation officer who was making as pre-sentence report that she was six weeks pregnant at the time the report was made which may make sentencing difficult."

In May last year, Armitage was up before York Magistrates Court on theft charges and was sentenced to a 12 months' conditional discharge and £55 costs.

In September, The Press reported Armitage was up before magistrates again, this time for fare dodging, for which she was fined £50 and ordered to pay £10.30 compensation.

Judge James Spencer sentenced Armitage yesterday to 80 hours of community work to be carried out before she becomes too heavily pregnant to complete it.

Sentencing Armitage Judge Spencer said: "Your behaviour is getting worse and you have run the risk of being sent to prison so you had better behave yourself in future.

"It seems to me that you ought to do some unpaid work for the community.

"To that end I am ordering you to do 80 hours unpaid work as part of a community punishment order that can be done sooner rather than later so it needn't affect your condition and hopefully by the time you have given birth, it will all be behind you.

"If you breach the order, you will be in prison."

The judge did not award compensation to the victim as the money and phone were recovered by police after the incident.