A 17-YEAR-OLD who sexually assaulted a woman and left a man with part of his skull missing after a drunken night out in Kidderminster has been jailed for 12 months.

The male, who cannot be named for legal reasons, punched the 50-year-old man to the floor and "practically lifted" a woman off the ground when he put his hands between her legs, Kidderminster magistrates heard.

Magistrates told the youth the offences were "fuelled by alcohol" and only a custodial sentence would be appropriate. He will be released after six months.

The Kidderminster youth had been drinking since the afternoon of Saturday, July 17 and the attacks happened after he left Yates's wine bar in Oxford Street early on the Sunday morning, said Owen Beale, prosecuting.

The sexual assault took place at a taxi rank, he said.

"This caused not only embarrassment but pain as a result and she shouted out at him that there was no need to do that. He said 'what are you going to do?'"

He then punched the father of one of the victim's friends in the face and another girl in the cheek, Mr Beale said.

The youth was later seen with his shirt off "behaving like a martial artist or a kick boxer" and punched another man in the face.

He then approached the 50-year-old man and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground, where he hit his head.

The man was taken to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital where surgeons removed part of his skull and a blood clot underneath.

"He is, at the moment, left without a skull on one side of his head," added Mr Beale, who said the man could take up to 18 months to recover.

Fergus Maxwell, defending, asked magistrates to spare the youth from custody with a referral order. He had pleaded guilty, had no previous convictions and was of good character, Mr Maxwell said. He had shown considerable remorse.

Chairman of the bench, Ron Jones, said the youth had "no intention" to cause trouble before going out but the offences were "so serious that only a custodial sentence is appropriate".