Riot boy, 14, wasn't prosecuted because his furious mum and dad told him off

A 14 year-old boy who was involved in the post-Southport riots was so severely told off by his parents that police and the Crown Prosecution Service decided to take no further action, it was revealed today.

His mum and dad are said to have marched him to a police station after discovering his involvement in the disorder, which broke out after the deaths of six-year-old Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar.

Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions said today the anger of the boy's parents was more effective than any action the criminal justice system would have taken.

READ MORE: A murky past... and a deadly romance: The weird world of a man accused of killing his wife on holiday

But speaking to the PA news agency on Monday, as figures show more than 600 people have now been charged over outbreaks of disorder, he said in contrast, there were also families who viewed taking part in the disorder as a leisure activity.

He said: "We've come across instances, anecdotally, of families regarding it as a day out, to go and just join in the disorder. But conversely, we had an instance where a family marched their 14-year-old to the police station, having seen on social media that that individual had been involved in the disorder.

"And actually, we took the decision that the wrath that had been visited on that child by his parents was more effective than anything the criminal justice system could deliver. And so we took no further action."

Mr Parkinson, who took up the post as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in November last year, said prosecutors are 'very alive' to the risk of children being criminalised unnecessarily, after becoming involved in the riots which