Five teenagers attacked fellow tram passengers 'like a pack of dogs' armed with sticks and poles but all walk free from court 

  • Men cornered three victims on stationary tram and beat them with poles
  • Six teens given suspended jail sentences after admitting violent disorder
  • Anthony Patton, 27, given 12-month jail sentence to run concurrently
  • Police condemn attack in New Addington as 'callous, brutal and cowardly'
PUBLISHED: 16:25, 1 May 2013 | UPDATED: 07:50, 2 May 2013
Six teenagers who launched a violent and frenzied attack on passengers on a tram have walked free from court.
A judge said that the youths acted 'like a pack of dogs' when they cornered their victims, three young Afghan men, and beat them with sticks, poles, and socks filled with ballast in what was a mistaken revenge attack.
But despite the teenagers all pleading guilty to violent disorder after the attack, which was captured on the tram's CCTV, they were spared jail at Croydon Crown Court this week.
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Kieran Hawker, 18
Kieran Hawker, 18
Robert Elsey, 19
Robert Elsey, 19
Aaron Henery, 18
Aaron Henery, 18
Dean Riley, 19
Anthony Patton, 27
Dean Riley, 19, left, and Anthony Patton, 27, right, were sentenced for their parts in the vicious tram attack
The court heard that before the attack, the group had chased a number of men into a petrol station in New Addington, Croydon, and assaulted one of them before fleeing as police arrived.
While the officers tended to the victim inside the petrol station, the group - armed with sticks and poles - turned on three other men, wrongly believing them to have attacked their friend earlier, chasing them as they tried to escape onto a Croydon-bound tram at King Henry's Drive tram stop.
As the victims boarded the tram, one of the group pulled the emergency door release, preventing the tram from leaving the stop and causing all the doors to stay open, according to a British Transport Police statement.
 

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Over a ten-minute period, the statement said, the tram was repeatedly bombarded with ballast thrown by the 20-strong group, smashing several windows and damaging the tram, while one ran aboard and threw ballast at the victims.
It said that the group then surged onto the tram and began a violent and frenzied assault on the three victims, kicking and punching them and striking them with sticks and socks filled with ballast.
A spokesman for British Transport Police said : 'The group swarmed in and out of the tram, taking turns to attack the victims. One of the victims was kicked so hard against an internal, glass door that it smashed.
'Like a pack of dogs': The youths cornered their victims in a tram and pulled the emergency cord to stop it moving off
'Like a pack of dogs': The youths cornered their victims in a tram and pulled the emergency cord to stop it moving off
'Hearing that police officers were on their way, the group fled after around two minutes, discarding their weapons as they fled.'
The victims, a 19-year-old man from Thornton Heath, an 18-year-old man from Streatham and a third unidentified man, were given first aid by officers at the scene.
CCTV footage of the group was circulated on police intelligence systems and they were arrested after local officers recognised them.
On Monday seven of the group, all of them from New Addington, were sentenced for their part in the attack, which took place in October 2011, after earlier guilty pleas.
The court heard how they attacked the men because they wrongly believed they had earlier attacked their friend. 
The attack took place in October 2011 on a tram at King Henry's Drive stop in New Addington
The attack took place in October 2011 on a tram at King Henry's Drive stop in New Addington
The attackers ran off when they heard police were coming but local officers recognised them from CCTV footage
The attackers ran off when they heard police were coming but local officers recognised them from CCTV footage
The youths caused £3,500 of damage to the tram in the ten-minute attack with sticks, poles, and socks filled with ballast
The youths caused £3,500 of damage to the tram in the ten-minute attack with sticks, poles, and socks filled with ballast
Judge Shani Barnes said: 'I am not exaggerating when I say that your behaviour on that night was like a pack of dogs'.
Detective Constable Ostin Elkins, from British Transport Police, said: 'This was a callous, brutal and ultimately cowardly attack and we welcome the sentences handed down.
'The victims stood absolutely no chance of defending themselves against a pack of individuals who repeatedly took turns to attack, regain their energy and then attack again.
'This was also terrifying for the numerous other passengers aboard the tram, who were present throughout the entire ordeal, while the tram itself sustained over £3,400 worth of damage and had to be taken out of service.
'Fortunately attacks of this nature – in terms of the violence and sheer numbers involved – are very rare on the rail network.'
Kieran Hawker, 18, was given a 13-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, an 18-month supervision order, and 100 hours unpaid work.
Robert Elsey, 19, was sentenced to a 15-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, an 18-month supervision order, and 36 hours at attendance centre.
Aaron Henery, 18, of Milne Park East, was given an 18-month rehabilitation order, an 18-month supervision order, and a specified activity requirement.
Dean Riley, 19, of Cator Crescent, was ordered to serve a 6-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, a 12-month supervision order, and to attend offender rehabilitation as directed by probation.
A seventh member of their gang, 27-year-old Anthony Patton, of no fixed abode, was given a 12-month custodial sentence to run concurrently with a four-year sentence he is already serving for an unrelated offence.
Two 17-year-olds, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were given youth rehabilitation orders, supervision orders, and 100 hours of unpaid work each.