TWO BOYS 'TORTURED' IN BULGER-STYLE CASE

Two young brothers, aged just 10 and 11, have been charged with attempted murder after a nine-year-old boy and his 11-year-old uncle were attacked and injured, the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK has said.

Police were called to the Brick Ponds area of Edlington on Saturday afternoon after the 9-year-old boy was found in the street bleeding "cut from head to toe".

The 11-year-old was later found semi-conscious in a railway cutting. He was airlifted to Sheffield Children's Hospital where his condition was described as critical but stable in intensive care.

'Covered in blood'

Officers from South Yorkshire Police are carrying out house-to-house inquiries to try to establish what happened.

Local residents told BBC News they believed the two boys had been hit with a brick, slashed with a knife and burned with cigarettes.

It is thought their mobile phones, trainers and about £3 ($AUD6) in cash were stolen.

Local resident Lisa Meehan said her daughter found the younger victim wandering in the street barefoot and covered in blood.

"I felt sick to my stomach," she said. "You couldn't see his face, he was cut from head to toe with a gash across his head. They had slashed his arms and face and he had no trainers or socks on. His face was mashed."

Resident Jean Wright, 68, said: "My husband saw [the younger boy] walking past the outside of our house and he was covered in what my husband thought was red paint. When he went out he saw it was blood.

"We brought him in and my husband calmed him down. He had a big gash on his arm and he was covered in blood on his head. He was shaking very badly and going into shock. We managed to get his name out of him and my husband told me to call an ambulance."

Derek Wright, 70, said his son Ian saw the 11-year-old on the edge of a stream, lying face down with his arms outstretched. He was covered in dried mud and blood, he said.

Mr Wright added: "They're animals, absolute animals. How any child could do this to another child I don't know."

Councillor Georgina Mullis, who represents Edlington and Warmsworth ward, said: "Edlington is a mining community which will always be a close knit community. People do help one another... and they will be shocked that this has happened. We don't want this sort of thing happening."

The younger boy is being treated for his injuries at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

South Yorkshire Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had advised South Yorkshire Police to charge the boys with four counts each of attempted murder and robbery.

Chris Hartley, head of the service's Crown Court Unit, said: "We have now authorised the police to charge a boy aged 10 and a boy aged 11.

"Each boy is charged with an offence of attempted murder for each victim and each boy is also charged with an offence of robbery against each victim. This gives a total of four charges for each boy."

TO THE TEACHER:

This horrific attack echoes of the murder of two year old James Bulger, also in the UK, back in 1993. The child murderers, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, were both aged 10 at the time.

With your students, discuss the similarities and differences between this case with the cases of James Bulger and Malcolm Goodall. Do students think that these boys, the murderers of James Bulger and the murderers of Malcolm Goodall should all be held responsible for their criminal actions? Why / why not?

The image on the right shows police officers guard the ravine in Edlington where two boys were horrifically beaten Photo: GETTY

ARTICLE FROM BBC NEWS ENGLAND.

UPDATE



Boys face attempted murders trial


Two brothers accused of attempting to murder two young boys have been committed to Crown Court. Skip related content
The brothers, aged 10 and 11, appeared before Doncaster Youth Court accused of attacking and robbing a nine-year-old boy and his 11-year-old uncle in Edlington, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on April 4.

The two brothers are also charged with two counts of attempted murder and two of robbery.

When they appeared in the dock flanked by four adults, the boys were told they each now also face two extra charges.

The brothers were arrested after a nine-year-old boy was found wandering in the former pit village covered in blood.

The youngster told police where to find his uncle, who was discovered unconscious in a nearby wooded ravine. Both the injured boys have now been released from hospital.

The brothers stood in the dock of the crowded court surrounded by two men and two women in civilian clothing.

The brothers spoke only to confirm their names, ages and that they understood what was happening.

After a 10 minute hearing Judge Jonathan Bennett committed the case to crown court.

He remanded the brothers into secure local authority accommodation and told them they will next appear on June 15 at Sheffield Crown Court. There was no application for bail.

SOURCE: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090528/tuk-boys-face-attempted-murders-trial-6323e80.html