The Herts Advertiser has overturned a court order which would have banned the newspaper from naming a notorious teenage thug who brought misery to residents of a village.

Earlier this month the defendant pleaded guilty to a string of offences, committed in September last year, including driving while disqualified, robbery and breaching the conditions of his ASBO.

He also admitted fighting another youth that same month, in the course of which the other boy was kicked in the head as well as driving whilst twice the legal drink drive limit.

But the newspaper could not name the young troublemaker because a Section 39 order banning the identification had been imposed at St Albans Magistrates Courts in January.

At a hearing last week, Advertiser reporter David Wrottesley handed a letter to the bench requesting the order be lifted on the grounds that he was the subject of an ASBO and it was in the public interest for him to be identified.

"I went to court on Friday to make an application after speaking to the Newspaper Society to get some good arguments," said David.

"We expected it to be lifted as we had such a strong case.

"Obviously, it's necessary and important that the public know who this particular young offender is."

David's application was granted and the newspaper printed a full account of Friday's hearing at which sentencing was deferred for good behaviour.

The NS Political, Editorial and Regulatory Affairs department offers legal advice to its member newspaper titles on editorial and advertising matters.