Naomi Campbell, the supermodel, was sentenced to five days community service and ordered to attend a two-day anger management course after pleading guilty in Manhattan Criminal Court to assaulting her housekeeper with a mobile phone.

Prosecutors said Campbell threw the mobile phone at Ana Scolavino's head with such violence in a dispute over a pair of jeans that four stitches were needed to close the wound. Ms Campbell, 36, was also ordered to pay Ms Scolavino's medical bills of $363 (£185).

In court, Ms Campbell said: "I threw a cell phone in the apartment. The cell phone hit Ana. This was an accident because I did not intend to hit her."

Ms Campbell's lawyer, David Breitbart, asked Judge Robert Mandelbaum that her community service be carried out indoors, for the model's safety. She is keen to protect herself from the kind of media attention that the singer Boy George received when he had to sweep the streets in Manhattan last August after being convicted of wasting police time.

Judge Mandelbaum said that he noted Mr Breitbart's request and Assistant District Attorney Shanda Strain indicated that it would be granted if indoor work were "available at the time".

The supermodel attended the court in 4-inch heels, a Louis Vuitton tweed jacket and dark sunglasses.

The attack on Ana Scolavino last March is one of a string of alleged assaults involving the volatile supermodel. In October last year, she was arrested at home in London after her drugs counsellor walked into a police station with scratchmarks across her face, claiming assault. In that instance, no further action was taken.

The Scolavino case fits a familiar pattern. In 2000, Ms Campbell was ordered to attend another anger management course by a court in Toronto after pleading guilty to assaulting her assistant Georgina Galanis with a mobile phone.

Jeans have also featured before in the Campbell anger saga. Last November, the supermodel's former maid Gaby Gibson filed a lawsuit after Ms Campbell allegedly attacked her when she could not find a pair of Stella McCartney denims.

Last month, Streatham-born Ms Cambell told Sky News: "It's been really like a tough year in terms of like the accusations and stuff like that. It's been very hurtful and blown out of proportion."

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