Five boys sentenced for attacking teen with hammer

The 14-year-old victim suffered a cut to the top of his head which required stitches and a broken finger

Five teenagers have been sentenced after a 14-year-old boy was attacked with a claw hammer and a bicycle seat.

The incident, which the judge described as a "planned revenge attack", occurred near St Joseph's Catholic College, a secondary school in Swindon, in March 2024.

The defendants, now aged between 15 and 18, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also punched and kicked the boy who suffered scarring as a result.

Sentencing them at Swindon Crown Court on Monday, Judge Jason Taylor KC said the assault would have been "incredibly shocking and frightening" for both the victim and onlookers.

All five boys pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The two defendants who wielded the hammer and bicycle seat also admitted possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

Four of them were handed youth rehabilitation orders, while the fifth was referred back to the youth court for sentencing.

A sixth boy, who has not yet entered a plea, has been bailed to appear in court again on 1 September.

The judge ordered the defendants not to contact the victim for the next 12 months

In the days leading up to the attack, the court heard the youngest defendant had been assaulted by another group of older boys, which was filmed and shared around local schools.

The victim was not thought to be involved in this earlier incident, although he may have been there when it happened and was friends with some of those boys.

The court heard messages were later exchanged between some of the defendants on Snapchat, detailing how they were going to seek revenge.

The threats included "we will get them bro trust me" and "we will crush their pride, give them a little reality check".

The court was also told messages revealed there may have been a "racial element" to the attack, as the victim comes from an Asian family.

One boy, described as the ring leader, took a hammer from his mother's cupboard before taking it to the scene and hitting the victim with it.

His barrister suggested he had brought the weapon due to peer pressure, to which the judge interjected to say "he aimed at the head".

He added with no previous convictions, the boys had "gone from zero to a hundred."

"You all knew what you were doing. You knew how bad it was which is why you armed yourselves," he said.

"That victim could easily have been killed, brain damaged or left with life-changing injuries. It is a matter of luck for you that his injuries were not more severe.

"He hadn't done anything wrong in the first place. You had the wrong person."