Teenager pleads to escape life of drug addiction

Kirsty Ann Barnett, who is addicted to heroin and crack cocaine, was banned from begging under city centre cashpoints when an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (Asbo) was imposed on her.

Her solicitor described her case as "tragic", while the Brighton and Hove City Council solicitor applying for the Asbo said she has been let down by the social services since being taken into care as a young child.

The court heard that without help and a change of lifestyle she will end up "in prison or dead".

It is the second time in a week The Argus has featured the story of a teenager whose life has been turned to despair by drug addiction.

Hannah Mayne, 19, from Brighton, spends her days searching for a £30 fix of heroin just to get to sleep at night and stop sweating, vomiting, shaking and diarrhoea.

Her mother Kate also spoke in moving detail about how heroin had ripped her family apart and how she could get hold of the drug within five minutes.

Brighton Magistrates Court heard that Barnett has a "substantial" heroin and crack addiction.

In her last drugs test she had every illegal drug other than cannabis in her system, according to Brighton and Hove City Council solicitor Simon Court.

He said: "She is a product of the care system and it would appear that society as a whole has let her down.

"She is consuming large quantities of heroin and in addition crack cocaine."

At one point, the court heard, crack drove her to "psychotic" beliefs, as she scratched and scarred her own face.

Defending solicitor Ray Pape said in an earlier case Barnett had confided that she wanted to go to prison.

He said: "She has previously asked to be placed in prison. She said 'It's good for me. I get three square meals a day and a roof over my head'. That is tragic, it really is.

"She is a bright individual who very clearly understands the predicament she is in at the moment.

"She is desperate to get some kind of treatment."

He criticised the care system for failing to address the problems of teenage drug addicts like Barnett.

He said: "The problem is her age - at 17 it is much harder to go into residential rehab - it is easier when you're 18."

The council successfully won an Anti-Social Behaviour Order to stop Barnett begging and abusing or harassing members of the public.

She is known to the police for sitting outside the Abbey National cashpoint in St James's Street and the NatWest cashpoint at Pavilion Gardens, Brighton.

Barnett, who turns 18 in June, has been in care for most of her life, after being taken into the custody of Haringey Social Services in London as a child.

She has 19 convictions for offences against the police, seven for criminal damage, 17 for violence against members of the public, eight for public order offences, six drunk and disorderly charges and several begging convictions, as well as a record of arson and robbery.

Mr Pape said: "Kirsty has had a very troubled background. She was taken into care at a very young age and has been in care ever since all over the country, with varying degrees of success."

He said while alcohol was the cause of the vast majority of her previous convictions, her drug addictions are now her biggest problem. The court heard from support worker Jason Wragg, who said Barnett no longer drinks.

Applying for the Asbo, Mr Court said: "It is unfortunate that a person who has had such a horrendous life finds herself in this position, but I have to act in the best interests of the community."

Presiding magistrate Dr Howard Carter imposed an interim Asbo to last until July 20, when the council will apply for a full order.

Barnett faces up to two years in prison if she breaches the order by using insulting, threatening or abusive words or behaviour in a public place, behaves in a manner likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to a member of the public.

She is also forbidden to appear in public drunk and disorderly, to beg from the public, to loiter within five metres of a cashpoint, or to possess an open container of alcohol in any public place.

Have you got a similar story to Kirsty Ann Barnett or Hannah Mayne? Have you turned your life around? Leave your comments below.

To see an exclusive video interview of Hannah and Kate Mayne log onto our website.