An out-of-control one-teen crime wave has narrowly avoided prison – despite torching two schools, attacking a police officer, threatening to stab a school pupil and robbing another.

The 14-year-old delinquent from Sittingbourne dodged custody for seven offences including robbery, arson and assault when magistrates heard about his troubled home life.

Two schools left more than £17,000 out of pocket as a result of the errant teenager’s arson attacks were awarded a combined £600 compensation, which the boy’s mother must pay back at £5 a week.

Medway youth court heard on Tuesday that the youth, who cannot be identified because of his age, was caught on CCTV footage going into South Avenue Primary School, Sittingbourne, on Sunday, September 6, with a group of others, taking a "large item" from a skip, placing it in a red bin and setting light to it.

The fire spread to two shipping containers where spare desks, PE equipment, decorations and 14 Christmas trees were stored. The blaze caused damage estimated at between £10,000 and £15,000.

Elizabeth Green, prosecuting, said the boys left the scene without attempting to put the fire out or call the fire brigade.

A little while later on the same day the boy and others broke into Sunny Bank Primary School in Murston and again was captured by a security camera starting a fire which caused up to £2,500 of damage.

Miss Green told the court that on October 8 the youth entered the grounds of a Sittingbourne school without permission while lessons were in progress and pushed open classroom doors searching for another teenager.

After finding him, the youth and a colleague followed him home. The colleague demanded: "Why did you tell them ***** had a knife?"

When the terrified victim denied telling anyone, the youth threatened: "You are going to get stabbed."

The court also heard that on October 25 the youth was in Sittingbourne High Street with another when he grabbed hold of another teenager by the coat, pinned him against a wall and stole £12 cash, a blue bandana and an iPhone despite another youth pleading: "Don't take his phone. That's out of order."

The defendant snatched the phone anyway and when the victim refused to reveal the pass code the youth smashed it onto the ground breaking it.

The youth was also arrested on September 29 for an unrelated matter and caused £71.71 of damage after throwing his mattress and pillows about in a police cell at Gillingham and lashing out at the walls and doors and spitting. He also damaged a police van and attacked a police constable when arrested in Gravesend on October 12.

Carly Styles, defending, said the youth had "a lot of issues" and suffered from autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She told the court his behaviour had changed after he had met a new group of friends and said his father had been jailed. She said: "It is a big ask but a custodial sentence will only make things worse. It would be good to try to nip things in the bud now."

South Avenue School applied for £10,000 compensation and Sunny Bank asked for £2,500.

Magistrate John Shepherd told the boy: "You are a hair's breadth away of going into immediate custody."

But he gave him a one-year referral order instead because of his young age, previous good character and early guilty pleas. The sentence means he must attend a youth offender panel and agree a contract to repair harm done and address his bad behaviour.

The youth's mother must pay £500 compensation to South Avenue School, £100 to Sunny Bank School and £134 to the robbery victim, a total of £740, at £5 a week.

The magistrate told the youth: "You need to get back on the right track. And take your hands out of your pocket."

The youth had admitted two charges of arson, two of criminal damage, one of robbery, one of assaulting a police constable and one of intimidating a witness. He was given a one-year restraining order not to make contact with the other school pupil.

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