Shotgun robber, 12, avoids jail

The boy was disarmed by police officers at Your Cheap Shop

A 12-year-old boy, one of the youngest armed robbers in the UK, has been spared detention because of his age.

The schoolboy burst into a store in West Bromwich with a 12-bore sawn-off shotgun demanding cash and cigarettes, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

But staff at Your Cheap Shop kept the youngster talking until police arrived.

The boy, now 13, admitted possession of a firearm with intent and attempted robbery and was sentenced to a three-year supervision order on Thursday.

'Truly exceptional'

Judge Robin Onions told the boy - aged just 12 at the time of the offence on 8 May this year - that he would have gone to jail if he had been older.

He said: "I am dealing with a truly exceptional case, given your age.

"In your case, the demands of rehabilitation are far greater than the need to punish.

"I take the view that you didn't understand the true extent, the gravity of what you had done.

"Society will be better served if you receive supervision and surveillance."

CCTV footage revealed the boy burst into the store with a scarf around his face and hood over his head.

He told the shopkeeper, Jasbir Guliani, to fill a black plastic bag with cash.

Weapon unloaded

Mr Guliani said there was no money in the till and, on instruction to load the bag with cigarettes instead, told the boy he was under age.

The retailer later offered him sweets and crisps instead.

During the raid Jasbir's father, Sudha Guliani, entered the shop and slipped out to call the police on his mobile phone.

The boy was disarmed by two officers who found the weapon was unloaded.

The court was told the plan for the robbery had been hatched by the defendant and his older brother, who was 14 at the time.

In court on Thursday the boy sobbed when a letter he wrote apologising for his actions was read to the court by his defence counsel.

He was ordered to remain indoors between 1900 and 0700 BST for the next three months and will also be electronically tagged and subjected to 24-hour monitoring by a youth offending team.

Speaking outside court, Det Insp Carl Southwick, of West Bromwich police, said the sentence was fair as the youngster had been "egged on" to hold up the store.