A TEENAGER involved in a spate of mobile phone and cash muggings has been sent to a young offenders institution for six months.

Daniel Priest, 18, of Brownroyd Avenue, Rawthorpe, admitted involvement in a total of nine robberies and one attempted robbery.

Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday that his accomplice was the main culprit in the offences.

Priest’s co-accused Adam Taylor, who was also 18 but who was said to have had a lengthy record of previous convictions, was locked up for two years earlier this year.

Priest, who only had a caution on his record, was said to be sorry for the offences which happened when he was not living at home.

Prosecutor Paul Nicholson told the court how two 13-year-old boys had their mobile phones taken on December 10.

Mr Nicholson said the first victim was walking home from school with friends when they were confronted on a canal towpath.

The youngsters were told: “Phones and cash now or we will batter you.” The phone was taken from the 13-year-old and the schoolfriends were warned: “If you tell the police we will hunt you down and we’ll kill you.”

Mr Nicholson said 20 minutes later another 13-year-old boy was also robbed of his phone and £2 in cash further along the canal towpath.

Again he was told he would be beaten up if he told the police. Ten days later Priest and his co-accused confronted a student and his friends as they waited near the Galpharm Stadium for a football match.

The student had an expensive phone and £5 in cash taken from his pockets.

During that incident a threat was made to petrol bomb the victim’s home if the phone was blocked or the police contacted.

After his arrest at the end of December, Priest told police that it was his co-accused who had made the threats but he had been present.

Priest pleaded guilty to three offences of robbery, but also asked for six further robberies and one attempted robbery to be taken into consideration.

Judge Roger Scott said he accepted Priest’s co-defendant was “the main villain of the piece”, butsaid Priest would have been a “a scary figure” to a 13-year-old boy.