A TEEN girl accused of robbing a passerby at knifepoint has been remanded into custody.

The 16-year-old from Devizes, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the dock at Swindon Youth Court yesterday charged with robbery and possession of a bladed article.

Prosecuting, Keith Ballinger described the charges against the teen as “effectively a knifepoint robbery”.

The girl, who appeared calm as she stood before magistrates on Tuesday afternoon, entered no pleas to the charges and spoke only to confirm her name, age and address. She was joined in court by her father and a social worker from Wiltshire Council.

She had committed the alleged offences while already on court bail for other charges, including criminal damage and possession of a bladed article.

Magistrates remanded the girl into custody for her next appearance before Salisbury Youth Court on May 2. They ordered extensive pre-sentence reports.

Simon Wolfensohn, chairman of the bench, said: “Everybody needs to know a lot more about you before progress can be made.”