A 16-YEAR-OLD boy has been locked up for two years for stabbing another teenager through the thigh with an eight-inch knife following a petty quarrel.

The attacker, from Whitefield, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was told he was lucky not to be facing a murder charge after the assault, which took place last November outside a row of shops in Radcliffe New Road, Whitefield.

Sentencing at Bolton Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Everett said it was imperative a clear message was sent out to knife-carrying youths that the only place they will end up is prison.

The judge, who told the court he himself had a 15-year-old son, said: “This whole incident does not bear thinking about.

“I can hardly imagine the agony the victim must have been in as the knife was driven through his flesh with such force that it went right through to the other side.”

The Guide made an application to the court to be allowed to name the attacker, but Judge Everett ruled he should remain anonymous because of his age, his previous good character and his non-serious risk of re-offending.

The court heard how the boy, who was 15 at the time of the incident, was being bullied at his secondary school.

Being subjected to taunts had left him on edge and paranoid that he could be victimised at any time.

Then, on November 6, he was travelling on a bus when a 16-year-old boy carrying an art folder shoved him in the back, sparking a quarrel.

Incensed at the provocation, the defendant got off the bus and walked a short distance to his home, took a large knife from his bedroom and came back outside.

He then caught up with the boy, who was with a friend, near the junction with Nipper Lane and stabbed him forcefully through the thigh with a long blue-handled knife.

The bleeding victim was helped into a nearby shop before he was taken to hospital for emergency surgery.

The offender pleaded guilty to the charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and, said Judge Everett, would have served three years in prison had he denied the offence.

He would have served between six and eight years had he been an adult, said the judge. The fact that the boy had never been in trouble with police before also went in his favour as a two-year detention and training order was handed out.

Addressing the boy, Judge Everett said: “Knife crime has become too prevalent and is becoming a real problem with young people.

“There is no doubt that you used a big knife. You have to realise that, unlike guns, knives are always loaded and when you use them, you can always cause serious harm.

“I want to make it extremely clear that you could well be here facing a murder charge because you would have only needed to have intended to cause grevious bodily harm rather than intended to kill him.

“You should be very thankful that your defence counsel has persuaded me that you would not be of serious risk upon your release and that you had no previous convictions.”