Curfew for youth who kidnapped two boys in a car in Birmingham
West Midlands PoliceA 15-year-old boy has been sentenced for kidnapping two young brothers in a car as their father dropped off food at a friend's house.
The teenager crashed into two other cars, slightly injuring the younger boy, before being arrested by armed police in Birmingham on 20 February.
The boys' father had shouted at the teenager that his children, aged two and four, were in the car.
The youth was given a two-year rehabilitation order and a curfew.
He and a 16-year-old co-defendant admitted aggravated vehicle taking, incorporating dangerous driving, at a previous hearing, and were also convicted of kidnap at Birmingham Crown Court last month.
They stole the vehicle as the father left the engine running as he delivered food to a friend in Selly Park on 20 February.
'Sick to stomach'
The 15-year-old previously claimed he took it to settle a £40 drug debt after mistaking the father for a delivery driver. He crashed the car on the nearby A38 Bristol Road, with the younger boy suffering bruising.
Both youths said they did not know the children were in the vehicle at the time.
In a statement from the father, read to the court by prosecutor Syed Ahmed on Wednesday, he said the incident had been "the most horrific experience of my whole entire life."
"It just made me sick to my stomach," he said.
Judge Peter Carr also sentenced the youth to be placed under intensive supervision and surveillance for 12 months, an extended activity requirement for 180 days and an electronically monitored curfew between 20:00 and 06:00 BST for six months.
The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also ordered not to contact the victims' family, and his mother was handed a parenting order for 12 months.
The 16-year-old defendant is due to be sentenced on Friday.
Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]