Teenagers sentenced at court after stabbing in Portslade

Two teenagers involved in the stabbing of a boy in Portslade have been sentenced at court.

The pair of 16-year-olds, from Hove and Portslade, were arrested in the early hours of Tuesday, 9 August after a 15-year-old boy reported being stabbed in nearby Valley Road.

Both suspects fled the scene but were caught by officers, one was arrested within 20 minutes and the other was later linked to the offence.

They cannot be named due to their age.

The victim had been lured to Valley Road shortly before 2:30am where he was ambushed by the two defendants.

They chased him down the road, pushed him over and stabbed him in the back.

He was treated in hospital for three days but went on to make a full recovery.

Following the arrests a knife was found at the scene next to a jacket, which was forensically linked to one of the boys.

At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 16 June, the 16-year-old from Portslade pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent and being in possession of a knife.

The other, who lives in Hove, appeared before Hastings Magistrates' Court on Monday, 21 August, and pleaded guilty to attempted robbery.

At Brighton Youth Court on Friday, 8 September, the 16-year-old from Portslade was handed 16 months youth detention.

The 16-year-old from Hove was sentenced at Brighton Youth Court on Friday (22 September) and received a two year supervision order.

Investigator Rose Horan said: “The motive behind this pre-meditated attack was robbery.

“The CCTV is chilling – we see the two masked youths approach their victim, a 15-year-old child, chase him and knock him to the ground. One of the youths stabs him in the back with a large kitchen knife.

“In terms of youth crime, this is about as dangerous and cowardly as it gets. It could so easily have had a tragic ending.

“Our officers were able to bring them into custody very swiftly after the emergency call came in. Please report any crimes to us online or via 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.”