A High Court judge has reserved his decision in a damages action brought by a teenager against her local education authority for allegedly failing to protect her from bullying.

Leah Bradford-Smart, 19, of Poynings Road, Ifield, Crawley, claims she suffered personal injuries as a result of negligence by West Sussex County Council.

The authority contests her claim and the judge, Mr Justice Garland, is to decide on the issue of liability only. He did not give a date for his ruling when reserving his decision at the end of a week-long hearing.

Miss Bradford-Smart, who is seeking around £75,000 in damages, claims she suffered post traumatic stress disorder as a result of bullying.

Her counsel, Mr Augustus Ullstein QC, told the judge during the hearing that she suffered "persistent and prolonged bullying" when she was a pupil at Ifield Middle School, Crawley, between September 1990 and July 1993.

Mr Ullstein told the court the substance of the allegation against the education authority was that it failed to protect her from bullying.

The judge heard there was no reported case in England and Wales where the existence or otherwise of a duty to prevent bullying has been discussed.

Miss Bradford-Smart, who sells theatre and pop concert tickets, told the court bullies branded her an "exhibitionist" and "prostitute" who "flaunted her body" when she was nine years old, because another girl had seen her in a paddling pool at home with just her knickers on.

She said she was chased around the playground, thrown against fences, suffered taunts, and, on one occasion, was pushed in front of a car as she waited for the school bus.

The authority argued there was very little, if any, sign that she was being bullied at the school and that she and her mother Susan, now 49, "greatly exaggerated" how often any such bullying was brought to the attention of the school.

It said that on the facts, the authority did not owe Leah a duty of care.