severe warning after a prosecution blunder led to the collapse of the case.

At the September trial the defence had said there was no case to answer because the charge of sexual exploitation used then can only apply to those above 14 but the two accused are 13.

And at Family Court yesterday Prosecutor Oonagh Goodred failed in her bid to change the charge to sexual assault.

The pair are alleged to have touched the girl's breast and private area last November.

One defendant pleaded guilty at the September trial while his co-accused denied the charge but an adjournment was called after the mistake with the charges was brought up by the defence who asked for the trial to be thrown out.

At the September trial the prosecution had withdrawn the sex assault charge but yesterday they tried to bring it back to replace the collapsed sexual exploitation charge.

At yesterday's hearing defence lawyer Richard Horseman said the defence would have had an entirely new case to meet if the charge was changed.

Family Court Magistrate Carlisle Greaves said: "In my opinion it's highly prejudicial to this defence if the prosecution having been found naked were now to bring that charge back.

"This sex assault charge doesn't allow any defence of consent therefore the ingredients in law are very much different in a sexual exploitation charge than in a sexual assault charge.'' He threw the case out but he warned the accused teens, who cannot be named for legal reasons, not to misunderstand what had happened.

He said: "What's happened is we are not saying you did not do what you did.'' He said they had got off on a technicality and it wasn't likely the prosecution would make the same mistake again.

And he told the pair they should not expect leniency if they appeared before him again.

"You know I am the kind of man who looks West,'' said Mr. Greaves in an apparent reference to Westgate.