Teenager tries to flee detention

SECURITY staff had to restrain a 15-year-old boy when he tried to leap out of the dock at Ipswich Crown Court after being sentenced to a period of detention.

The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, pleaded with Judge Peter Thompson not to impose a custodial sentence and then tried to escape.

Two Group Four security officers and members of court staff restrained the boy until police arrived from the adjacent police station. The boy was taken away in handcuffs.

During yesterday's incident the boy repeatedly called to his mother who was sitting in the public gallery.

After the hearing Judge Thompson, who had earlier turned down a request from Group Four for the boy to appear in court in handcuffs, apologised to a Group Four officer for what had happened.

The boy, who comes from Kent, had been sentenced to a six month supervision order in September.

Yesterday he appeared in court in breach of the order.

The court heard that since September he had attended 11 meetings with his social worker but had missed six for acceptable reasons and seven for no good reason.

The boy told the court that he wanted to change his social worker and was keen to try to make the order work.

He said he had been in custody for a week and a half and described the experience as 'horrible'.

However, after listening to the boy's social worker Judge Thompson replaced the supervision order with a four month detention and training order.

He said the boy had not been prepared to make an effort with the supervision order and had 'run out of road'.