A teenager who used a baseball bat to rob two schoolboys as they walked along a disused railway line has been jailed.
The 17-year-old claimed that a drug debt forced him to threaten the two boys in Earlsheaton Tunnel.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of robbery and possession of an offensive weapon when he appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court.
Prosecutor Alex Bozman said that the teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, came across the two boys on the route forming part of the Spen Valley Greenway on March 23.
The first victim, 15, approached the tunnel alone as his friends left to climb a tree near to an overhead bridge.
Mr Bozman said: “The defendant approached him carrying a wooden baseball bat.
“He raised it and said: ‘Give me all your money’.
“The victim said that he didn’t have any money and the defendant didn’t accept this and said he’d wrap the baseball bat around his neck.”
The scared boy handed over his e-cigarette and bag containing his mobile phone, bank cards and cash worth a total of more than £600.
He was also ordered to empty out his pockets before being able to escape.
The defendant then turned his attention to a second victim aged 14, threatening to knock him out of the tree he had climbed unless he came down.
He again demanded him to hand over all of his belongings, holding his baseball bat to the head of the frightened boy.
Then he patted down the boy’s jacket pockets and jogging bottoms to take his e-cigarette and lighter from him.
A third boy witnessed the robberies from the safety of a tree and helped the two victims identify the defendant.
Both victims said they felt shocked and fearful following their ordeal.
The defendant from Huddersfield also admitted stealing two bottles of perfume worth £112 from Debenhams in Bradford.
And he breached the requirements of his previous detention and training order imposed for offences of public disorder, assault, theft and taking a vehicle without consent by repeatedly being absent throughout his curfew.
His solicitor Paul Blanchard described him as “complex in the extreme” and vulnerable as he suffers from many issues.
The teenager told the youth bench of magistrates that he owed money for his cannabis problem and felt intimidated into committing the offences to pay off his debt.
But they described the double robbery as very nasty, as the incident was likely prolonged and involved the deliberate targeting of young people.
They sentenced him to an eight month detention and training order.
