Three teenage girls were sent to a young offenders institution for two years each today for the manslaughter of a 15-year-old schoolgirl who collapsed and died after being attacked at a beauty spot.

Aimee Wellock was set upon by Claire Carey, 18, and two other teenagers after they had been drinking at Chellow Dene, Bradford, in June.

Carey and the 15-year-old and 17-year-old girls, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were found guilty of Aimee’s manslaughter at a trial last month and were sentenced by a judge at Leeds Crown Court today.

There were emotional scenes in court after the judge, Mr Justice Field, announced the trio would be sent into custody. All three of the girls were in tears and their families in the public gallery tried to reach them to comfort them, ending with the judge deciding to adjourn the hearing.

Passing sentence, the judge said: "I am acutely aware no sentence I pass will restore Aimee to her family or assuage their grief or acute sense of loss."

He told Carey, 18, that he was treating her as a "dangerous offender" and said that she had to serve a minimum of two years in custody, but her release after this time was not guaranteed.

Her situation will be reviewed by a parole board after the two years had expired, he said. She was "the principal participant" in the assault on Aimee.

The judge told the other two girls that despite not treating them as dangerous offenders in the eyes of the law, he nevertheless would impose two year detention and training orders in both cases. He told the younger of the pair: "None of that violence had any justification at all."

As well as being convicted for manslaughter all three were either found guilty or pleaded guilty to a count of affray and were given sentences to run concurrently with those for the manslaughter charges.

Aspiring dancer Aimee suffered from an undiagnosed heart condition and the court heard how the strain of the attack on June 7 caused her heart to fail.

During the nine-day trial the jury was told that the three girls had all been drinking at the popular beauty spot in the Allerton area of Bradford for about five hours after Carey bought 40 bottles of strong lager from a local off-licence.

When they came across Aimee, who was with a group of five other children, they bullied and intimidated them, shouting comments such as "slags in short skirts" at the girls who were with Aimee, before attacking them.

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