Boy, 14, who joined yobs in Southport riots so sternly told off by parents that further action dropped

A 14-year-old boy who joined yobs in the Southport riots was so sternly told off by his parents that police and prosecutors decided to take no further action.

The director of public prosecutions (DPP) said the scolding by his mum and dad, who marched him to a police station after learning he was part of the disorder, was more effective than any action from the criminal justice system.

But the DPP, Stephen Parkinson said there were also some families who saw taking part in the riots as a leisure activity.

He said: “We’ve come across instances, anecdotally, of families regarding it as a day out, to go and just join in the disorder. But conversely, we had an instance where a family marched their 14-year-old to the police station, having seen on social media that that individual had been involved in the disorder.

“And actually, we took the decision that the wrath that had been visited on that child by his parents was more effective than anything the criminal justice system could deliver. And so we took no further action.”

One of the youngest rioters was a 12-year-old boy, who hit headlines when his mother chose to fly to Ibiza for a holiday the day before he was due in court.

District Judge Joanne Hirst ordered her to appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court after her sunshine break, where she ordered her to pay £1,200 compensation and go on a parenting course.

The boy was given a 12-month referral order after admitting two counts of violent disorder, a measure designed to prevent him committing further crimes.

“Sometimes the state, I’m afraid, has to intervene,” Mr Parkinson said. “And the consequence of an intervention like the 12-year-old is a referral order, which would then mean that rehabilitation can take place and we can divert them from the path of criminality.

“That’s the objective with youngsters, not to criminalise them, it’s to put them on the right path. We have people who are specially trained around youth work, because it’s important we do make the right decisions.”

So far more than 600 people have been charged over the riots which swept Britain in the wake of the Southport stabbings.

Of these, over 530 are adults and more than 75 are children under the age of 18, about 13% of the total.