By Conor Sharkey

A Sion Mills teenager has been remanded in custody just days after becoming the first person in the Strabane district to be slapped with an ASBO.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, received the Anti-Social Behaviour Order after being convicted of common assault and breaching a conditional discharge last Friday.

Under the conditions of the ASBO, the teenager was put on a strict curfew, ordered to refrain from entering parts of Sion Mills and told not to consume alcohol.

Following an incident on Sunday in the village however, the youth was brought before Omagh Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, charged with breaching his ASBO, obstructing and assaulting police and making threats to kill. He was remanded in custody to appear before Strabane Magistrate's Court today (Thursday).

Speaking earlier this week, the young man's mother said a sustained campaign of police harrassment was to blame for her son receiving his unenviable accolade.

"I know it may sound like I'm just jumping to the defence of my son, but there are a lot worse out there than him. Trevor Hamilton was able to roam this village quite freely before murdering someone. Why was he never given an ASBO?

"I know my son has committed crimes, but I honestly believe he was provoked by the police here in the village on every occasion. None of the residents in Sion Mills can say that he was running around smashing windows or setting fire to things, because he wasn't.

"In fact, he has been getting on well recently, working with Customized Training Services and a local car firm.

"But the police have had it in for him for years and have constantly harassed him in the hope of getting a reaction.

"They have been building a case against him for the past three years and now they have got exactly what they wanted," she said.

The mother-of-four said her son will try to adhere to the conditions of his ASBO, however she believes if the police harassment continues, it could prove difficult.

"Under the conditions laid down, my son is barred from entering certain areas. This means he can't go to church or to the graveyard where his grandfather is buried. He can't even go to the chip shop without breaching his ASBO, but how do you tell a 16-year-old that? How do you tell a teenager he can't run about with his friends anymore?

"I know how this looks and I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who will say he must have been up to all sorts if the court gave him an ASBO.

"But he has never terrorised old people in the village or gone on a wrecking spree or anything like that. Any trouble he has been in has been down to police provocation and I hold them solely responsible for him getting an ASBO," she said.