Natalie Cooper was in Temple Park Road, South Shields, when the plastic carrier bag containing glass and plastic bottles, was thrown in her face by a youth who was in a group walking past her.

Dazed, confused and bleeding from her mouth, the 15-year-old managed to stagger to her home in nearby Bramham Court, guided by her brother and sister.

Once inside, her shocked mum, Joanne, took her to the accident and emergency unit at South Tyneside District Hospital, where she was advised she would need treatment at Durham's University Hospital.

The teenager later underwent a skin graft operation and surgery to realign her lips – remaining awake throughout the treatment after choosing a local anaesthetic.

She finds it difficult to talk, and one side of her face is still swollen after the attack last Tuesday.

She said: "I don't know why they did it. I didn't do anything."

The teenager had been on her way home after a visit to her
grandfather's in Boldon with her sister Stacey, 16, and brother Callum Carr, 11 when the attack happened at about 9pm.

She added: "I saw them, but didn't think anything of it. Then the bag just hit me. It felt like my lip was hanging off. I don't want to go out. I can't eat."

Some of Natalie's teeth have also been damaged and she will have to undergo dental treatment once her mouth has healed.

Sales advisor, Ms Cooper, 35, said: "I am so angry and upset.

"Why anyone would do this? She is just so emotional at the minute and won't go out. We are hoping these people are caught. We have handed the bag in to police.

"We would just appeal to anyone who may have saw what happened to contact police."

Inspector Graham Lockey, of South Tyneside Area Command, said: "This would appear to be a random attack carried out on an innocent member of the public. We would appeal to anyone in the area at the time of the incident to contact police."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 03456 043 043 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.