A judge allowed a 14-year-old boy who stabbed a girl 10 times to walk free from court after telling him prison was the 'last place' for a 'bright lad' like him.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attacked the girl with a six-inch kitchen knife at a shop in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on March 15 after he asked her out on a date and she said no.

In a brutal attack caught on the shopkeeper's CCTV, the boy, from Wiltshire, grabbed her forcefully and stabbed her multiple times as she tried to flee.

He was handed a three-year restraining order and a 12-month referral order after admitting to wounding with intent, inflicting grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

The victim's mother has said the family feel 'incredibly let down' the 'evil and sick' boy wasn't jailed. 

Now transcripts of court hearings in the case, seen by the Daily Mail, reveal how Judge Ian Lawrie KC did not want to put the boy behind bars despite admitting he has 'behaviour dysfunctionality... which causes me grave concern'.

'The planning, the thought process, the carrying of the knife, and what I've seen on the CCTV, the actions which frankly stand out markedly as dangerous,' he added.

However, the judge later described him as a 'bright lad' with a 'solid family background and home' who did something 'out of kilter'.

'My own view is custody is the last place you should be... What I'm trying to do is find a sentence that's best constructed to help you and give you support,' he said.

He also suggested that the knife was 'not a highly dangerous weapon', adding: 'It's a persistent assault in the sense it's not a one off. But equally it's not of great duration either.' 

The boy, who also stabbed a shopkeeper who tried to intervene, was freed on bail before later being handed a community sentence.

He had become obsessed with the girl at his school, using fake social media accounts to send her messages after she rejected his advances in December 2025.

Then on the morning of March 15, he waited for the girl near the shop and asked her on a date.

When she said no, he followed her armed with a knife in the pocket of his jeans and stabbed her at least 10 times.

The 14-year-old girl suffered cuts to her neck, hands and face, and bruising to her back. The shopkeeper, who tried to grab the boy, suffered injuries on his back.

After admitting the assault, the boy spent three months in Vinny Green, a secure unit in south Gloucestershire for 10 to 17-year-olds.

But at a hearing in June, Judge Lawrie said he was 'deeply unhappy' that the teenager had been sent there.

He released him on bail on an electronic tag, ordering him to stay at home between 6pm and 7am every day.

However, the day he was released on bail, the boy did not return home until 1.30am, meaning the tag could not be fitted until the next day.

'We are dealing with a 14 year old. They tend to be a little bit temperamental,' said Judge Lawrie. 

In a victim statement read to the court, the girl said: 'I'm scared and nervous anywhere that I go. Even if someone puts their hand up next to me I flinch as I don't know what they are about to do to me. I know this is as a result of the incident, as I wasn't like this before.

'I was in so much shock after it happened. I didn't leave the house for a couple of days. I never thought something like this would ever happen to me, or anyone I know at all.

'I've been having nightmares since; I relive the incident, but in these dreams it happens in different places. I sleep in the dark but when I wake, I constantly feel like there is a presence in the room. I can't stop thinking about it.

'This is going to affect my ability to trust people. I'm now getting dropped off to work…because I don't want to be outside on my own. I shouldn't have to feel like this as a teenager in my own area.'

The victim's mother – who has not been named – said she feels 'failed' and 'incredibly let down' by the court's decision.

She told the BBC: 'If you're big enough to commit an adult crime, you should have the punishment, regardless of your age. It was not a petty crime – it wasn't petty theft.

'I feel angry. We're incredibly let down; we feel like everyone's failed us. It's disgusting. It's absolutely disgraceful after watching [CCTV footage of the knife attack] that someone can say the guidelines are first offence and the injuries weren't life-threatening.'

She added: 'I want some justice for my child – I want some protection.'

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher, Head of Serious and Complex Investigations, said: 'This was a frenzied attack that took place in broad daylight.

'The victim was stabbed multiple times with a knife and has been very, very lucky to get away with only minor injuries. We could easily have been looking at a fatal incident if that knife had pierced her anywhere else.

'My hope now is that the victim is able to move on from these deeply traumatic events and start to rebuild her life again.'

arthur.parashar@dailymail.co.uk