TWO boys aged 11 and 13 are to be sentenced after a jury decided yesterday they had abducted a child at knifepoint, forced him to strip naked, and beat him.

The youngsters, who cannot be named for legal reasons, kidnapped the eight-year-old boy from a green where he was playing with friends.

They held a knife to the terrified child and led him to a school field where they forced him to strip, told him he was gay and demanded he perform sex acts on them.

When he refused, the child was thrown into a thorn bush, kicked and punched in the head and stabbed twice in the arm. He has been left extremely traumatised by the incident, which happened in April last year.

At Teesside Crown Court yesterday, the jury reached a decision that the 11-year-old - now 12 - of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, had kidnapped and assaulted his victim. It was also disclosed to the jury that his accomplice - now 14 - had already pleaded guilty to kidnap and assault offences and is due to be sentenced in a month's time.

The defendant, who was accompanied by his mother, had been declared unfit to plead to the charges, so the jury was asked to decide whether he carried out the offences but not to determine guilt.

They returned unanimous decisions on both counts.

The judge has the power to impose a supervision order on the boy when he is taken back to court for sentencing on the same date as his friend.

Detective Sergeant Mark Willoughby, of Bishop Auckland CID, who led the investigation, said: "It has been a particularly disturbing case, due to the fact it is a very serious offence which has been committed on a vulnerable young child.

"The boy and his family have had a terrible time leading up to this court case. It's had a traumatic effect on them all.

"Hopefully, they can put it behind them and move on."

The hearing was adjourned for reports to be prepared on both defendants.