A care home assistant who used a cushion to try to smother a seriously ill resident as she lay on her deathbed has had her punishment cut short.

The 17-year-old was sentenced to 12 months' probation last April after she admitted the assault on her 79-year-old victim.

But a judge at Lewes Crown Court revoked the order after being told she had "made good progress".

The elderly lady died two days after the pillow was put on her face at the home in Crowborough in April 1999 but her death was unconnected to the incident.

The woman had been transferred there in June 1998 after her previous home in Bristol was closed and was expected to die at any time by relatives.

The girl, who has now turned 18, was originally charged with attempted murder but cleared of that offence after the Crown offered no evidence.

She had received just two-and-a-half hours' formal training and was said to be mentally unprepared for the stress of caring for the elderly residents at the home where she worked full-time.

She was said to have "cared desperately for the residents", many of whom were seriously ill, and their plight "affected her deeply".

The teenager placed the pillow over the paralysed woman's face and held it there for 30 seconds. She later confessed to another member of staff.

The pensioner died two days later but a post-mortem examination showed there was no link between the smothering and her death.

Revoking the probation order, Judge Charles Kemp told her: "You will be discharged ahead of time due to good progress on your part.

"For that I congratulate you. The order can and will be revoked as of today."