A TEEN group taunted a Subway diner with shouts of “baldy”, before one of the boys picked up a chair in a threatening manner.

But the youth who had the chair in his arms was only given a six month extension to his youth rehabilitation order after magistrates heard from youth offending team manager Julie Coleman that the boy’s behaviour was improving.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was part of a group who abused an older man eating in the same Subway with his daughter and her boyfriend on December 4 last year.

The group used taunts like “baldy”, prompting the man to tell the group to grow-up, prosecutor Nick Barr said.

Magistrates heard the boy had spat at the man, hitting him in the face. The boy picked up a chair and threatened to hit the man.

Sam Arif, defending, said her client had raised the chair in self-defence, after the man had walked towards the teens’ table.

Ms Coleman told JPs the fact that the boy had put down the chair without throwing it at a wall was a "massive improvement" and showed the change in the teen’s behaviour since working with her team. “That shows massive progress,” she said. “It’s disappointing to see him back here today, but I will say in terms of seriousness although it’s not nice to spit at someone or even spit on the floor it is nowhere hear to where he was.

“This was a boy we thought - head in hands - he’s going to put himself into custody and once he goes there we will lose him.

“He has had a horrible childhood. Horrible.

“All this boy’s ever wanted is a foster placement. He gets lonely. He gets fed up. He gets depressed.”

The boy pleaded guilty to threatening behaviour and assault by beating. Magistrates extended an existing youth rehabilitation order by six months.