Teenage trio lured boy to park to stab him

A teenage girl and two boys lured a 15-year-old to a park and repeatedly stabbed him in what was described as " every parent's worst nightmare", a court has heard.

The girl, who was 15 at the time, and her two 16-year-old accomplices, got the boy to a secluded area of Herrington Country Park, Sunderland, where one of the youths stabbed him 11 times with a large kitchen knife.

The victim told the court he had been left living in terror, while his mother said she feared her son had been killed in the "brutal senseless attack".

The girl, who admitted attempted murder, was sentenced to seven years and four months in youth detention.

One boy was sentenced to two years and 10 months in youth detention and the other got a 24-month detention and training order, after both were acquitted of attempted murder but pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

None of the young people involved can be identified.

The girl made accusations about the victim which led to the trio luring him to the park and attacking him with a large kitchen knife, the court heard.

The boy was given life-saving first aid at the scene, spent seven hours in surgery and had to stay in hospital for a week after the attack, the boy's mother told the court.

She said she had been at work when she got the call to say her son had been stabbed and rushed to the scene to get to his side.

She said she could "not put into words the gut-wrenching fear and worry" she felt and she immediately thought he would die.

The woman said it was "every parent's worst nightmare", adding: "I could not believe this happened to my son and the world felt evil because of it."

She said she was "extremely thankful" the boy survived the "brutal senseless attack", saying the two boys did not even know their victim but carried out the "sick plan" due to "accusatory words from the girl", who had only known her son a short time.

She said the three could not understand the lifelong impact they had on her family, as well as their own.

The boy told the court he had been left scared of going out alone and regularly had nightmares, waking up "terrified" and "petrified".

In mitigation, the court heard the girl had come from a traumatic childhood while the boys also had issues.

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