TWO schoolboys were robbed and threatened with screwdrivers during a terrifying street attack.

The boys, aged 13 and 15, were walking across a grassed area between Portobello Lane and Fulwell Road, in Sunderland, when they were targeted on June 26 last year.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how they were surrounded by four attackers while their pockets were checked and their property, including a mobile phone and some cash, was taken.

Karl Atkinson, 21, James Mitchinson, 23, and Dale Hughes, 18, all of Sunderland, admitted robbery.

A 14-year-old has admitted the same charge and will be sentenced by a youth court.

Michael Graham, prosecuting, told the court: "The four defendants crowded around them and began demanding money. Two of them produced screwdrivers."

James Mitchinson and the 14-year-old pleaded guilty on the basis they did not have any weapons and did not know screwdrivers would be produced.

The court heard that the attackers, who each have a string of previous convictions, had been drinking "cheap wine" before the incident.

Atkinson, of Cleveland Road, was jailed for three-and-a-half years. Mitchinson, also of Cleveland Road, was jailed for three years. Hughes, of Ryhope Road,was jailed for two -and-a-half years.