EDLINGTON TORTURE BROTHERS: A look back at a crime which shocked the nation – 10 years on

It was a crime which shocked the nation – two young boys left for dead in an attack carried out by two other boys, equally as young.
The spot where two boys were tortured by two brothers in EdlingtonThe spot where two boys were tortured by two brothers in Edlington
The spot where two boys were tortured by two brothers in Edlington

In April 2009, two brothers, aged 10 and 11, subjected to young, innocent boys to 90 minutes of torture as the youngsters played out.

The spot where two boys were tortured by two brothers in EdlingtonThe spot where two boys were tortured by two brothers in Edlington
The spot where two boys were tortured by two brothers in Edlington

The sadistic brothers attacked their victims, who were just nine and 11, after luring them to a secluded area known locally as the Brick Ponds, in Edlington, Doncaster.

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They kicked, punched and stamped on their victims, throttled and cut them, sexually humiliated the boys, hit them with branches and pelted them with stones.

One of their victims had part of a discarded ceramic sink dropped onto his head from a height – leaving him close to death.

The victims had cigarettes stuck into their wounds and one of the boys was burnt during the attack.

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One of the victims pleaded with his attackers to be allowed to die in a desperate bit to end his ordeal.

Police officers who dealt with the case were offered counselling afterwards.

The mum of one of the victims branded the brothers ‘evil’ and others likened the pair to Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, who were both 10 when they abducted and killed two-year-old James Bulger in Bootle, Merseyside, seven years earlier.

When the brothers were sentenced to a minimum of five years’ detention at Sheffield Crown Court in January 2010, Judge Justice Keith said the brothers got a 'real kick out of hurting and humiliating' their victims.

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They admitted grievous bodily harm with intent, having originally been charged with attempted murder.

The brothers also pleaded guilty to robbing their victims - taking a mobile phone from one and some coins from the other - and to inciting them both to engage in sexual activity.

They also pleaded guilty to assaulting another young boy a week before.

The pair had been due to be questioned by police about the first attack on the day they struck again but they failed to turn up at a police station for a pre-arranged appointment.

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Sheffield Crown Court heard the brothers had grown up in a 'toxic' home environment of 'routine aggression, violence and chaos'.

They had only lived in Edlington for three weeks before the attack, after moving in with foster parents.

The brothers were initially granted anonymity until their 18th birthdays but won lifelong anonymity in 2016 when they were released from custody. The High Court ruled they would be at ‘serious risk of attack’ if their names were made public.

They now have new identities.