A JUDGE has said he would like to give the creators of Facebook “a piece of my mind” because of the trouble it can cause.

He criticised the social networking phenomenon during a Clacton assault case which centred on abusive messages made on the website.

District Judge David Cooper said: “It causes so much trouble, that Facebook. I don’t know who founded it, but I’d like to give him a piece of my mind.

“People used to be nice and write letters to each other, now they just go on Facebook.”

He made his comments at Colchester Magistrates’ Court yesterday, after Billie-Jo Hoodless admitted assaulting Jae Flemming in a Clacton street on June 14.

The 20-year-old had been walking to a shop in Nayland Drive, the road in which she lives with her father, when she saw her ex-boyfriend, Bradley Smith, and Miss Flemming together.

The court was told Hoodless beat Miss Flemming until her father managed to pull her off the other girl.

Robert Newbould, mitigating, said Hoodless had been subjected to abusive messages left on her Facebook profile by Miss Flemming and it was this that had provoked her.

Judge Cooper said: “She’s been called horrid names over Facebook, which is about as humiliating as you can get, because I assume everyone sees it.”

He told Hoodless: “You have been abused on Facebook and it’s unsurprising you were unable to cope with it and reacted badly.

“I’m not going to punish you – just don’t let it happen again.”

He gave Hoodless, who has no previous convictions, a conditional discharge for a year, with a restraining order preventing her contacting Miss Flemming – including via Facebook.

Hoodless said she had already “blocked” Mr Smith and Miss Flemming from seeing her profile page.

She was ordered to pay £85 costs.

Facebook was launched in 2004 and last month recorded its 500 millionth member.