Teenagers in £1,000 boat-wrecking spree

TWO teenagers caused more than £1,000 of damage on a wrecking spree at Greenfield marina.

The boys, aged 15 and 16, boarded unoccupied narrow boats and smashed windows and doors before throwing the owners’ belongings across the frozen canal.

Oldham Youth Court heard on Friday that the pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, carried out the the raid on February 7.

The 16-year-old gave himself in to police the following day. The court heard that he broke into four barges and took property from two, while his 15-year-old accomplice climbed aboard two of the vessels.

Magistrate Kath Kershaw said the severity of the crime warranted a custodial service for the 16-year-old and a community sentence for the 15-year-old. They will both be sentenced on Thursday, April 5.