Two boys have been sentenced for robbing a 13-year-old who feared he may be stabbed during the incident in Carlisle as one assailant produced a knife.
The city’s youth court heard the young victim was on his mountain bike, close to Holme Head Bay, Denton Holme, at around 5.30pm on July 16 last year. He was approached by two other boys, one of whom made to grab the bike.
As he did so, the other robber took a knife out of his pocket and showed it to the cyclist. “He didn’t say anything to me. I perceived it to be a threat,” the boy later recalled.
The first boy, now aged 15, got on the bike and rode off. As the owner followed, he heard the other robber, aged 13, say: “I’m going to slash his tyres.”
“He was concerned they may use the knife on him,” prosecutor Peter Bardsley said of the victim, who was scared and dialled 999.
He later provided an impact statement. “After the robbery occurred I was in a state of shock. I came back home in tears.
“I was quite emotional for the remainder of the evening,” he stated. “In the weeks that followed I’ve begun to process things a bit. I do still feel quite unsettled when I’m out alone or with friends.”
Some damage was caused to the bike, and he now avoided the area where the crime had occurred.
Both of the boys responsible admitted robbery, and were sentenced in court today after defence lawyers gave mitigation on their behalf.
Lead youth justice Keith Southward told the boy who had produced the Swiss army-style knife: “It wasn’t a pleasant thing for somebody to have to face. We read a lot about knife crime. It is very dangerous. We’re hearing more cases of people being stabbed and it is not the thing to be doing.”
Both boys were made subject to 12-month referral orders and must work with youth offending service staff to access support aimed at keeping them on the straight and narrow.
They must each also pay £50 compensation for damage caused and an order was made for forfeiture and destruction of knife.
