Magistrates have given a 17-year-old a chance to change his behaviour after an “unpleasant” racially-aggravated attack.

Reporting restrictions means the teenager, from a village near March, can’t be named due to his age.

He admitted two charges of using racially abusive language.

Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court heard that on April 1, the defendant and another boy were being driven to Wisbech to go shopping when a discussion was started about Islam.

The defendant then swore at the driver, using words “referencing his religion” to racially abuse him.

In a victim statement, read to the court by prosecutor Paul Brown, the victim said: “He’s made me feel uncomfortable and upset. What worries me is that I may not be the last person that he says that to.”

Chairman of the bench, Susan Painter, heard that this was the second incident of abuse suffered by the victim at the hands of the teenager, following an incident on March 23.

In mitigation, David Chappell told the court that the teenager knew that the words were unacceptable but “found himself drawn to make remarks just for the sake of it”.

Mr Chappell added that the defendant hoped to start a course at college in the coming months and would meet people from all walks of life.

The teenager was given a nine-month youth referral order where he will work on his behaviour with the Youth Offending Service and was ordered to pay a £50 victim surcharge.

At sentencing, Mrs Painter said: “You won’t be able to maintain that kind of behaviour. This was really quite unpleasant.”