A teenager who beat up a 14-year-old and stabbed a boy aged 15 in two separate attacks has been spared jail.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced in Swindon Crown Court on April 23.

He was being sentenced for one count of S20 grievous bodily harm, one count of S18 wounding with intent and one count of possession of a bladed article.

The first incident happened in Noremarsh Park, Royal Wootton Bassett on September 7, 2023, when the defendant was 16, and led to a 14-year-old needing plastic surgery.

Matthew Mortimer, prosecuting, explained that the defendant said to the victim: “What are you looking at, I’ll make your jaw swing."

The victim later went to play football with a group of others, the youngest of which was nine years old.

The defendant walked over and started shouting at the victim, and started punching him. He then headbutted him and began recording him on his mobile phone.

The victim was screaming, “I am sorry, stop”, and he repeated, “I don’t know what I have done”. The nine-year-old was also crying.

The defendant kicked him in the face, knocking him out. The victim was later found to have, among other injuries, a fractured jaw and was treated by a plastic surgeon.

The victim was not able to recall events and only remembered after waking up the next day and being shown pictures of his injuries.

In a victim statement, he said: “I’m terrified I might end up getting assaulted by him again”.

He avoided going out in Wootton Bassett and was falling asleep in lessons because he could not sleep at night.

A second incident happened on Isbury Road, Marlborough, when the defendant was 17, on November 7, 2023.

The defendant approached a 15-year-old wearing a mask and said, “What’s good”, before stabbing him in the upper left leg.

The victim did not realise at first he had been stabbed, thinking the victim had just swung the knife. 

He escaped to some garages, where he tried to stop the bleeding by applying pressure with his hands and was later treated at Great Western Hospital.

The defendant, currently in Feltham Young Offender Institution, has been in custody for around five months.

Defence solicitor Robert Ross said that at the beginning of that time, anyone would have said: “This is a nasty little thug.”

But he explained he had been involved in ‘grooming’ exercises by much older people, and faced difficulties at home.

He added: “It’s important to remember what it is like to be a 15, 16, 17-year-old.”

Furthermore, while he has been in custody he has undertaken studies to be a personal trainer and received a Level 1 qualification.

He said: “This is a young person who probably has a very real chance to turn his life around. I would urge the court to give him that chance.”

Judge, HHJ James Townsend, noted that he has ADHD, minor learning difficulties and a conduct disorder and was "exposed to things at home which children should not be exposed to".

He was sentenced to a two-year youth rehabilitation order with intensive supervision elements.

These include a 9pm to 7am curfew for six months and three months exclusion from Royal Wootton Bassett and Marlborough. Both of these will be measured with an electronic tag.

He will also be subject to a youth rehabilitation requirement of 91 days of extended activity.

The judge said: “You are going to in the right direction and I hope that will continue.”

At the sentence, there were smiles from the defendant's family members. The defendant did not speak apart from affirming his understanding.