Magistrate Brian Maloney gave 19-year-old Cody Heap a stark warning about jail life in an attempt to scare the youth into good behaviour.

“You’ll find big, ugly, hairy strong men (in jail) who’ve got faces only a mother could love that will pay a lot of attention to you – and your anatomy,” the magistrate said.

Heap appeared at Downing Centre Court in Sydney and was charged with driving without a licence, failing to stop at a police alcohol check point and driving dangerously.

It was his third time before the courts for driving offences – prompting the magistrate’s warning he would be jailed next time.

The teen was banned from driving until 2013, placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond and ordered to perform 150 hours community work.

But the magistrate was not the only one exasperated by the teenager’s recklessness.

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph was inundated with comments from readers after the newspaper published a photo of the baby-faced offender flashing a grin and two thumbs up.

The paper’s editorial backed the magistrate, saying his comments were “a vision in clarity” and gave the teenager “a reality check of his future”.

“We can only hope this strategy helps. Hope it ends the slaughter of young innocents on the roads through stupidity,” the paper said.