Southport boy ‘chose to be part of an angry mob’

To recap, Liverpool Youth Court heard the 12-year-old boy threw two stones at police officers in Southport on 30 July.

The boy – who cannot be named because of his age – was said to have gone to the scene outside the town’s mosque because he was “curious” after seeing a fire.

But, his defence said he was not involved in racist chanting and had no previous convictions.

He pleaded guilty last month – which the court heard meant he avoided a prison sentence.

District Judge Wendy Lloyd told the boy “it was an angry mob and you chose to be a part of it”.

“It was a really horrible situation and you made it all the more horrible by joining in and throwing stones,” she added.

The district judge has just sentenced the 12-year-old to a 12-month referral order – and the boy will also be subject to a curfew between 21:00 and 07:00 each night.

A referral order is a sentence available to the courts when dealing with young people below the age of 18 who have admitted an offence. It requires them to take part in a rehabilitation programme aimed at preventing them from offending in the future.

“You’ll work with the young offending team – to make sure you don’t offend again and to protect other people from your offending,” the district judge tells him.

BBC News