Boy caused £3k Penrith cricket club damage out of boredom
- Published
The boys used stones pulled from the wall to smash up furniture
A boy and two friends caused £3,000 worth of damage to a cricket club out of boredom, a court has heard.
Penrith Cricket Club said the vandalism in July was "devastating".
Two of the boys, aged 12 and 13 at the time, were dealt with by police, but one now aged 14 appeared before Carlisle Youth Court.
He admitted criminal damage and was given a referral order. Judge John Temperley also ordered £500 compensation to be paid.
'Reckless'
The court heard the three youngsters, who cannot be named, removed stones from a perimeter wall at Tynefield Park which they used to smash glass tables and chairs, wooden railings and a water pipe at about 02:00 BST on 5 July.
Prosecutor George Shelley said they also "damaged boundary rope, possibly by cutting it".
After discovering the damage, cricket club bar manager Michelle Dodd said she was "absolutely devastated", especially as the club tried to "encourage the youngsters to come and embrace cricket, get involved and to get them off the streets".
The group also damaged one of the club's sight screens
The 14-year-old was identified on camera footage and made full admissions to police, saying he was "bored", had not been thinking properly and was "reckless".
The boy spoke in court of sneaking out of his family home that night.
'Paid high price'
His solicitor Andrew Gurney said the boy did not accept that he caused all of the damage during the "spur-of-the-moment" attack but he was "truly sorry".
The boy's mother told the court that the family had already suffered "lots of consequences" with a BB gun fired at a window days after the incident.
"Understandably people are very upset," she said, adding of her son: "He has already paid quite a high price."
Thousands of pounds were donated to an online fundraiser and volunteers helped carry out repairs, the court heard.
The boy was made subject of a three-month referral order during which he must work with a youth offending team.
"Though boredom, as you say, a lot of property has been damaged. That cost a lot of money," Judge Temperley told the boy.
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