A TEENAGER has been convicted of stabbing another boy in Grays.

The 15-year-old victim suffered a collapsed lung and a severed tendon in one hand after being stabbed through the upper arm and into his chest in an incident earlier this year.

He needed surgery and may suffer potential long term damage to his left hand following the attack on King George's Field, known locally as Blackshots Field.

He was walking across the field near Jesmond Road, on 15 March this year, with his girlfriend when they saw a 14-year-old boy they recognised. As they walked past him, the defendant called out to them and attacked the victim with a large knife.

He denied carrying out the attack and stood trial at Southend and Chelmsford Youth Courts between Wednesday, 12 May and Tuesday, 18 May. A district judge who heard the case without a jury convicted him of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The teenager from Chafford Hundred was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court next month, on a date yet to be set.

Reporting restrictions are in place, which means neither the defendant nor the victim can be identified and no information that could identify them must be published.

PC Brian Sargent said: "This was a vicious and senseless attack, and all the more shocking given the ages of those involved.

"There is never any excuse to carry knives or weapons. They put people's lives at risk as well as your own, and the consequences are devastating.

"It's important that as a community we speak to our children and young people about the dangers of carrying weapons, and that young people know they can get help if they're concerned someone they know might be carrying weapons.

"Working together as a community we can keep our children safe."