Two brothers have admitted carrying out a brutal attack on a nine-year-old boy and his 11-year-old uncle.
Which would be bad enough - except that the two brothers were only aged 10 and 11 at the time.
The attack, in Edlington, South Yorkshire, left one of the boys in a coma while the other managed to raise the alarm.
The boys were hit with sticks and bricks, a sink was dropped on one of the boys while the other had a noose put round his neck.
The young brothers used cigarettes to burn their victims and also tried to force them into performing sex acts on each other.
At Sheffield Crown Court yesterday, the brothers admitted causing their victims grievous bodily harm with intent.
The prosecution accepted their pleas and dropped more serious charges of attempted murder, meaning the victims would not be put through the ordeal of a trial.
The brothers have been labelled "hell boys" by the tabloids - which isn't particularly helpful. You have to wonder how they turned out like this.
It's been suggested by former neighbours that they were left to live a "feral lifestyle" before being taken into care earlier this year.
There had been numerous other incidents before this terrible attack, which asks the question - why were they not already in some kind of secure accommodation? Why were they even allowed to wander off and carry out this attack?
When the attack took place the elder brother had already been in court four times for acts of violence and was on a "supervision order". Which clearly doesn't do what it says it does. His brother was on bail charged with burglary.
The boys will probably not be sentenced until early November, after reports have been prepared.
Doncaster Council says a serious case review is now under way to establish if there are lessons to be learned by any agency involved. Good idea...
Source: AOL News