A schoolgirl punched another girl over an argument about a message on Facebook and ended up in Magistrates' Court.

Katisha Smith, 16, pleaded guilty to assaulting Chelsea Tyrell during the court appearance yesterday.

Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney did not detail the message Ms Tyrell posted on the Facebook social networking site that sparked the confrontation.

However, he said Smith approached her at Nelly's Walk, Church Street, on February 24 and threatened to punch her and slap her.

She then punched her three times in her right eye.

Police attended the bus station nearby, and Smith was arrested on suspicion of assault, at which point she told Police: "Yeah, I hit her."

Ms Tyrell was taken to hospital for treatment and then released. Mr. Mahoney did not give her age or where she goes to school. Smith, from Southampton, is a student at CedarBridge Academy and attended her court appearance dressed in her school uniform.

She told Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner: "She was bumping me twice which resulted in me hitting her. She was telling me to watch my back."

Mr. Warner asked: "Why are you young schoolgirls behaving like this in public. What do they teach you in school?" Smith replied: "To walk away."

"Yes," said Mr. Warner. "And decorum and all those things that are ladylike."

Smith agreed: "It's not right to fight."

Mr. Warner ordered a social inquiry report, which will involve interviews with Smith, her family, and teachers.

She is due to return to court for sentencing on June 22, and was granted $2,000 bail in the meantime.