A south coast daily has locked horns with its local magistrates' court after it banned the paper from printing a photo of an ASBO teenager.

The Argus, in Brighton, has named the 15-year-old and explained the general the nature of his crimes and the terms of his ASBO.

But Brighton Magistrates' Court – the same court which gave him the ASBO – decided that if his picture became public he might be attacked.

The Argus is also banned from detailing his bad behaviour, naming his associates and printing his address and school.

The story has caused widespread dismay among Argus readers who have flooded the website with comments about the decision.

Simon Westrop, head of legal at The Argus's parent company Newsquest, said: "The order that the court purports to have made under Section 39 of the Children and Young Person's Act 1933 is extremely convoluted and difficult to understand.

"Moreover, in our view it is for the most part unlawful.

"The court has tried to specify a whole series of items of information that they want to prohibit from disclosure in addition to the matters listed in Section 39 itself."

Mr Westrop added that he was in the process of writing to Brighton Magistrates' Court, asking for the decision to be withdrawn and the order re-issued.

According to The Argus, the teenage yob was a member of a gang exposed by the newspaper for carrying knives and guns.

Brighton and Hove City Council said that he smashed up parked cars and hurled a brick through a house window injuring a teenage girl.

The ASBO has placed him under curfew and banned him from drinking in public and entering certain parts of the city.

This new interim order was made on Wednesday after a request by the city council and will last until a full court hearing on March 20.