TWO 12-year-old girls were subjected to an ordeal of fire by a teenager who later claimed he could not remember the incident, Blackburn magistrates were told.

The court heard that Andrew Russell Donnelly lit a piece of paper and told the girls it was a petrol bomb.

He threatened to set fire to the home of one of the girls and then threw the burning paper at her.

The other girl tried to stamp out the flames but the burning paper stuck to the soles of her shoes.

And prosecutor Claire Fanning said that at that stage Donnelly and his companion walked away "in fits of laughter."

Donnelly, 19, of Montague Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to using threatening behaviour. He was fined £50 and ordered to pay £75 compensation.

Clare Knight, defending, said Donnelly accepted what had been said but could not recall the incident. "He is on medication which has affected his memory," she added.