London - The youngest looter to appear in the dock over the London riots was told by a judge that he deserved to be behind bars - but escaped custody because of his age.
Just five days before the riots the 11-year-old had been sentenced to an order designed to end his thuggery after he tried to set fire to a bus.
But a judge said his hands were tied as the rioter remained too young for a custodial sentence - and instead handed him another court order.
The shocking case highlights the apparent powerlessness of the authorities when confronted by feral children with no respect for law and order.
It was one of the most notorious to emerge from the mayhem that took place across England over four-nights of terror last month.
In a separate case, an 11-year-old girl who threw stones at shop windows during unrest in Nottingham failed to apologise to a judge as she was handed a similar punishment.
The smirking youngster told police she “wasn’t bothered” when she was arrested and laughed and chatted with security guards during her court hearing.
The 11-year-old boy, who lives in Romford, Essex, is the son of a convicted criminal who he sees as a role model, a court heard.
He was caught red-handed stealing a bin from a Debenhams store in his hometown as rioting swept England on August 8.
A rampaging mob of up to 30 hooded and masked youths smashed a £6 000 display window at around 10.30pm.
Police looked on as the boy knelt down and reached across the wreckage to steal the waste bin from inside.
One officer gave chase and caught the boy further down the street. He said: “I was just taking it out to hand to somebody else, sir.”
The boy admitted theft at Havering youth court and a second charge of violent disorder was dropped as a result.
The boy had only just been handed a 10-month referral order for criminal damage, arson and carrying a craft knife. He was caught and ordered to pay £617 costs after slashing the seats on a bus and trying to set light to the foam inside on July 18.
When the bus driver refused to let him leave, the boy took a rock from his pocket, smashed the glass door and kicked a hole in it so he could jump from the moving vehicle. Sentencing the boy to an 18-month youth rehabilitation order, District Judge John Wollard said: “You seem to think nobody can stop the way you behave… and everybody else has to put up with it.
“If you were a little older you would be locked up in prison but the law says I can’t take that course of action with you because of your age.”
The boy sat next to his mother as he was told council officials could put him into care. He was warned this could include a secure home if he tries to run away, as he has done in the past.
Vicky Thompson, the boy’s solicitor, blamed his actions on the influence of his father and said his behaviour had improved while he was in prison recently.
She said: “His father is not giving him boundaries and allows him to come and go as he pleases which is not a great thing for an 11-year-old.” - Daily Mail