A teenager brutally attacked a homeless woman sleeping rough and then told friends that blood on his hands and clothing were from a fight with a man he 'left for dead,' a court heard.

Reece Finch 18, is alleged to have carried out the unprovoked attack on the 63-year-old woman as she was preparing to settle down for the night in an alleyway off the Market Place in Great Yarmouth, in the early hours of October 12 last year, Norwich Crown Court heard on Monday.

John Morgans, prosecuting, said Finch grabbed the woman in a headlock, then rammed her head into a metal gate leaving her with a fractured eye socket and cheekbones.

The injured woman managed to stagger into the Market Place where she was later found lying unconscious and badly injured and was taken to hospital to be treated.

Mr Morgans said that after the 'brutal' attack, Finch left the scene covered in blood and later told friends, who helped clean him up, that he had been in a fight with a 20 year-old and he had 'left him for dead'.

Mr Morgans said, when arrested for the assault, Finch had denied being responsible.

Mr Morgans told the jury there was no dispute the victim was attacked but the issue they had to decide was whether it was the defendant who had carried out the assault.

He said there was scientific evidence to link him to the attack as blood was found on his clothing and his handprint was found near the scene.

Finch, of North Quay, Great Yarmouth, has denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

In a statement read to the jury, the victim said she had been living on the streets since 2013, having moved to Norfolk from Merseyside and often got abuse and assaulted but nothing on this scale.

She suffered alot of pain from her injuries and said: 'I have no idea why he did it.'

She said she is now scared to go back on the streets and added: 'I have done nothing to deserve this. This was totally unprovoked.'

The trial continues.