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A 17-year-old who attacked two teenage boys and stole their mobile phones in the space of five minutes has admitted robbery.
At about 8.15am on Thursday 7 May, a 13-year-old boy was walking to school along St John’s Avenue in Sittingbourne when he was approached by two older boys.
They asked him the time and after taking out his iPhone 5, the victim was held in a headlock and his phone stolen.
Just five minutes later, a second victim – a 16-year-old boy – was attacked while walking along Canterbury Road.
As he took his phone out of his pocket to look at it, someone ran past and snatched it out of his hand.
Just as he turned to see what happened, he was punched in the face. The victim suffered a cut lip, which required hospital treatment and 10 stitches.
The attack prompted the 16-year-old victim's mum to issue a warning to youngsters to take care.
Her son needed nine stitches in the top left-hand corner of his lip after he was mugged as he made his way to Sittingbourne Community College.
Despite being dazed and bloodied, the victim gave chase but lost his attackers near the block of flats in Woodberry Drive.
Mum Sarah Cory said: “My boy only pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time and he was jumped and left with stitches.
“Please warn each other that it can happen in seconds, don’t be getting your phones out while walking in public.
“Let’s keep our kids safe from the low life that we have to share our planet with.”
The 38-year-old had just returned from her cleaning job when her son turned up at the family home in Murston covered in blood.
“It was all down his neck and over his shirt,” she said. “I was shocked. It was awful.
"Please warn each other that it can happen in seconds, don’t be getting your phones out while walking in public..." - Mum Sarah Cory
“I tried cleaning him up and his dad got on the phone to the police.
“He had to go to hospital because he was bleeding so much.
“We took him to Sittingbourne Memorial but they transferred him to see a plastic surgeon at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.
“They did the stitches there and the plastic surgeon tried to reduce the scarring as much as possible but he will have a scar.”
Mrs Cory said she and her husband will now have to scrape the money together to replace the phone, which wasn’t insured and was bought as a birthday present last month.
She added: “He wasn’t being irresponsible with it and I don’t hold him accountable for what happened at all.”
Officers investigating the reports made an arrest the same day the robberies took place.
The following day, a 17-year-old boy from Sittingbourne, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with two counts of robbery.
He appeared at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, May 12 and pleaded guilty to both offences. He will now be sentenced at the same court on 15 June.
Investigating officer, PC Grant Broad of Kent Police, said: "Two innocent young boys on their way to school were attacked for the sole purpose of stealing their mobile phones.
"While these two incidents happened one after the other and very quickly, so was the police response. We quickly located an offender and arrested him later that day.
"Thanks to the wealth of evidence against him, within five days of the offence happening, the teenager was charged and pleaded guilty to both robberies.
"While these incidents have understandably caused some concern, I hope the community will rest assured police have investigated thoroughly and dealt quickly and robustly with the offender.
"He will remain in custody and off the streets where he can pose no threat to the public until he is sentenced next month."
A 15-year-old from Sittingbourne, who also cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of robbery and has been bailed to July 8.
He was also charged with seven counts of shoplifting from the Co-op in Murston between April 18 and May 1, and one count of exposure, which relates to an alleged incident on April 29. He was bailed to appear at court on June 8.
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