Father pleads with social services to “get son out of his hair”

The father of a 14-year-old boy from Walton has told a court he pleaded with social services to get his son “out of his hair”.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Staines Youth Court on Wednesday, August 25, for breaching a supervision order.

The court was told he received a six month referral order in January this year for shoplifting, which was extended to 12 months in February for a criminal damage offence.

When he failed to attend supervision sessions in March, April and June, he was offered a reprieve if he attended the Stamp Out Boredom summer activity sessions run by the Elmbridge Housing Trust.

However, the court heard he was thrown off the course after repeatedly insulting one of the Stamp Out Boredom volunteers, which in effect meant he had breached his supervision order.

Lead magistrate John Miller sentenced the boy to two community reparation sessions for the breach and warned him he could end up in a detention centre if his behaviour continued.

He said: “We’re going to have to give this one more chance to work. You need to attend the sessions the youth team set up for you otherwise you will be going to a detention centre. You really don’t want that at your age.”

His father told the court his son had told him he did not care if he ended up in court when he started on the scheme.

He said: “He’s 14 years old and he thinks he can do what he likes, speak to me and my partner as he likes. I’ve got no control over him.

“I’ve begged the social services to take him out of my hair. He wants to go anyway.

“He doesn’t go to school. He’s been excluded from two schools and he won’t go to another one. He doesn’t come in until one, two, three in the morning.

“I’ve told him the next thing will be Feltham [Young Offenders Institution].”