FIVE children have been charged by police over an incident which occurred at Warrington Youth Zone.

The defendants – who cannot be named for legal reasons due to their ages – are all teenage boys ranging from the ages of 15 and 17, and all are of the Warrington area.

Each is charged with affray, while one also faces a charge of assault by beating an emergency worker.

The case of all five was heard before Warrington Magistrates’ Court, with some entering guilty pleas and some denying the charge.

The court heard from Michael O'Kane, representing the prosecution, told the court that the affray allegation dates to March 5 this year.

The defendants are alleged to have used or threatened unlawful violence towards staff at Warrington Youth Zone, with their conduct allegedly causing people at the scene to fear for their personal safety.

Those who pleaded guilty were a 17-year-old and a 16-year-old, and they were both handed an eight-month youth referral order.

A referral order is the community sentence most often used by the courts when dealing with 10-to-17-year-olds, particularly for first time offenders who plead guilty.

They require that an offender must agree a contract of rehabilitative and restorative elements to be completed within the sentence.

They were each also told by magistrates that their parents or guardians must pay costs to the Crown Prosecution Service of £85 and a statutory surcharge to fund victim services of £26.

A 15-year-old and a 16-year-old each pleaded not guilty, and they will stand trial before the same court in November.

The former is also charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker, with it alleged that he spat in the face of a male detention officer in Runcorn on March 9.

The remaining defendant, also a 15-year-old, is set to enter his plea next month.

Those that have not been convicted were released from court on conditional bail not to attend Warrington Youth Zone or contact any of their co-defendants.